Sempai, My Saviour
by rincewind1990
Summary: Shinobu was in trouble and needed help. Then he saved her. KeiXShin. Rated M for some swear words and adult themes. my first ever fanfac so i hope you enjoy it. please tell me what you think
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: don't own love hina so don't sue me

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Update:Not much changed. prof read it properly this time so i think i got all the mistakes in the reviews. I'll probably answer/ comment on a review when I post a new chap.

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Sempai, My Saviour

**Chapter 1**

She was dragged into an alley with a hand clamped over her mouth to stop her screaming. He pushed her against the ally wall where she the wind was knocked out of her and she fell to the ground. The man moved closer to his prey, savouring the look of fear in the young girl's eyes, the anticipation of what he was about to do and the thrill he would receive. He reached down, tore off her shirt and bra to admire his victim.

Shinobu Maehara, the very cute but incredibly shy cook of Hinata Sou, tried to fight against the man but it soon became apparent that she was nowhere near strong enough to fight off a kitten let alone a fully grown man. She was smart enough to realize what was going on and what most likely was going to happen to her. This is what her parents and friends had so often warned her about but there was nothing she could do. She was going to raped and most probably killed.

As she felt the hot breath of the pervert on her face Shinobu's mind was reeling. She prayed to any and every God that might be listening to help her, for this to be nothing more than a terrible nightmare and that she would soon wake, but in the end she knew it was futile. This man, this Monster was going to rape her and there was nothing that could happen to prevent this. In an effort to block out what was happening to her she thought about the people that meant the most to her in life. First and foremost in her mind were her parents. She loved both of them dearly and the worst memories she had were of the arguments they had been embroiled in and the divorce that followed. It was her love for her parents that led to her moving into the Hinita as she simply couldn't hurt one of them by deciding to live with one instead of the other. She remembered the day when that saint of a woman Grandma Hina saved her from making that dreadful choice between the two people whom she loved most in the world.

Her mind then wandered to her friends, no her family at Hinata sou. For that is what they had all become to her in the time she's spent with them and the adventures they had gotten entangled in. She thought of all the people that she now considers her family. Kaolla Su, the girl she considers her closet friend, the young Gaijin with boundless energy and an ever cheerful personality which can brighten anyone's day.

Motoko Aoyama the strong and beautiful swords-woman Shinobu had come to respect and admire. She has often wished to be half as strong and beautiful as Motoko so she could look after herself and not rely on the protection of others. Now more than ever did she wish she was like Motoko so she could defend herself.

Then she thought of Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno the woman that was overflowing with confidence. Shinobu was not only jealous of how carefree the sake connoisseur always was but also how well endowed she was. Always in the hot springs Shinobu felt inadequate in comparison to her friends, even Su who was not much older than her, but she felt the saddest when she compares herself to the resident fox.

She felt jealous of every girl at the Hinata but none more so than Naru Narusegawa. Out of all the girls she lives with she is the most envious of Naru. Not only is she smart, she is beautiful, confident and strong. In other words everything Shinobu was not. But more so than anything she was jealous of the fact that the girl holds the keys to the heart of the man she loves. Her thoughts then went to the person she cares the most about. Keitaro Urashima, her sempai. Although the man was clumsy and slightly perverted he had succeeded in winning a place in her heart as the first man she ever loved. Through all his accidents and 'perversions' Shinobu saw the sweet, caring, dedicated man he was. While he was not the smartest person in the world he still took the time to help her with her homework or any other problem she had. He was always there to catch her whenever she was about to fall, always there to protect her even if it meant he was going to get yelled at and beaten by Naru and/or Motoko for 'molesting' her. While Shinobu was always distressed by this he always returned with a smile on his face, just happy that she wasn't hurt. This is what she loved most about him he was always there for her even if he ended up getting hurt.

'_Sempai' _Shinobu thought to herself.

What would he think when he finds out what happened to her? Would he be angry at her for not being able to look out for herself, would he hate her and be disgusted with her because she had her virginity stolen from her?

'_Perhaps it would be better if this monster did kill me instead of letting me live.'_ She wondered _'at least then I won't have to live with the knowledge that Sempai hates me'. _

Then another part of her mind countered _'But Sempai has always looked after me, so surely he couldn't hate me something I had no control over.'_ Her mind battles back and forth like this for what seems like hours to Shinobu but in reality barely even a second has passed.

Shinobu's mind is now completely closed off to the rest of the world and she doesn't even notice the pervert grip the hem of her skirt while her inner monologue continues

'_But I can't die yet, not without telling Sempai how I feel about him' _to which the cynical part of her mind responds _'and what would he say? That he loves me back? He loves Naru-sempai and there's no changing that. Why would he want an unattractive girl like me who is always in the way and won't even be a virgin for much longer? It would be better if this monster would just kil-'_

"**GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARD!**" roared a voice breaking her mental train of thought.

In her current state of mind, she barely registered the fact that her attacker had just been knocked away from her and was currently having his face rearranged and a very sensitive part of his anatomy kneed repeatedly.

Once Shinobu's rescuer thought that he got the point across to the rapist he turned to go check on the girl.

"Hey miss are you alright, did that guy hurt yo- oh my god Shinobu-chan is that you?! Are you hurt? Did that guy touch you? Please Shinobu-chan, you have to tell me if you're hurt!"

Briefly revived from her state of shock when she heard her name Shinobu looked up to see who was calling to her.

"Sempai" she whispered.

"Shinobu-chan thank god you're alright! Please you have to tell me if that guy did anything to you, this is really important, please tell me!" Keitaro urged the shaken girl.

Shinobu just stared up at him and thought _'He came.'_

While he is waiting for a reply from his young friend Keitaro looked over Shinobu to see if she's been hurt.

_'Please god, don't tell me I was too late.' _Apart from a few scrapes and bruises she seemed to be unharmed, '_Only her shirt is torn and her skirt is still on. I hope this means I wasn't too late' _he thought to himself.

Keitaro finally noticed that her shirt was now little more than scrapes of cloth on the ground and that her breasts are fully exposed to the world, so he removed his own coat without a seconds thought and wrapped the girl up to protect her modesty.

Once this was done Keitaro looked at Shinobu's face, still waiting for an answer. When it was obvious that she was in too much shock for him to get any information out of her, he said "Shinobu-chan listen, I need to get you back home as quickly as possible so I'm gonna carry you, OK?"

He waited for her to say something but when she just stared at him blankly he sighed and picked her up.

"Don't worry Shinobu-chan I'll get you home in no time, you'll see; I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Shinobu stayed silent but his words register _'He came. He saved me'._

As Keitaro passed the man who tried to harm the sweetest person Keitaro had ever know in one of the worst ways imaginable, he was filled with rage and kicked the man in the crotch as hard as he could before running back to the Hinata leaving the unconscious man to die for all he cared.

* * *

As Keitaro ran as fast as he dared for fear his natural clumsiness would appear and hurt the girl further he thought _'oh god what am I going to do Shinobu-_chan_ was almost rap- Fuck for all I know she was raped! I swear to every and any god listening that I'll hunt that bastard down and kill him with my bare hands if he did rape her'._

He looked down to check on his young friend and saw that she was still staring at him blankly."Don't worry Shinobu-chan we'll be home soon enough with the other girls - oh crap the girls!"

Keitaro realised that returning home with an obviously distressed Shinobu, half naked in his arms might not get the best reaction from the residents (two particular tenants came to mind) and what Shinobu didn't need right now is to see him fly through the air very fast.

_'Damn Shinobu-chan needs help but if I get blasted to main-land china before I get a chance to explain who knows what could happen to her. I need someone who would know what to do in this type of situation but not fly off the handle the moment they see us..... of course Haruka! She'll know what to do!'_

Looking down at her cradled in his arms he said "Hey Shinobu-chan slight change of plans we're going to see Haruka in her tea rooms OK?" hoping for a response from her but she remained silent.

Shinobu knew he's talking but doesn't understand what he is saying; the only thing she knew right now was what she kept repeating in her mind._' He came. He saved me'._

* * *

Once they arrived at the tea rooms Keitaro found it was starting to close for the night and so decided to go in around the back entrance to spare Shinobu the embarrassment of walking through a room of strangers half naked. Luckily for him and Shinobu, Haruka usually kept the back door open and today is no exception. He rushed in, deposits Shinobu on the sofa and called out

"Haruka I Need Your Help Back Here!"

Over the years Keitaro and his aunt have formed an informal system and it's doubtful that Keitaro even noticed it but Haruka knew that when Keitaro didn't call her 'Aunt' it usually means the shit has hit the fan.

"Keitaro what's wrong?!" Haruka asked as she walked into her living area.

"Its Shinobu-chan something terrible has happened to her!" said the distraught nephew as he led his aunt over to where he had left Shinobu. When he sat Shinobu down on the sofa his jacket had fallen off her so the first thing Haruka notices was that Shinobu was naked from the top up.

"FUCK KEI WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HER?!" she yelled as she rushed to Shinobu's side to see if she was alright.

Keitaro proceeded to tell his aunt what had just happened, how he saw a girl being attacked, when he rescued her it turned out to be Shinobu, that she has only said one word since he found her and why he chose to come see her instead of going straight up to the dorm.

"God Haruka I don't even know if she was raped or not, I mean her skirt and everything is still on so that's a good sign right Haruka? Right Haruka? Please tell me that's a good sign!" Begged the woman's nephew.

Haruka saw that he was nearly hysterical and tried to calm him down "Keitaro I'm not going to lie to you, right now I don't know if she was or not, I can find out bu-"

"Just FUCKING do it Haruka! I have to know if the beating I gave that guy was enough or if I have to go back and kill him!"

"KEITARO URASHIMA CALM DOWN NOW!" She yelled at him. When she saw that he had visibly calmed down she went on to say "Firstly you running around and screaming bloody murder is only going to make things worse and secondly if I want to find out if she's been raped I have to check to see if she's still a virgin. Do you understand?"

Keitaro gave her a confused look and she sighed, _'He can be such idiot sometimes'_. "Fine I'll put it in a way that even you will understand. I have to look at Shinobu-chans vagina. OK? "

Despite the situation Keitaro blushed and said "O-oh I s-see. I'll just go and wait in the other roo-".

"NOOOOOOO" Before he can even finish his sentence Shinobu broke from herself imposed spell at the thought of being separated from her Keitaro, and leapt across the room to his arms weeping.

"Please Sempai don't leave me alone, please only you can protect me!" As she says this she gave him a hug that made one of Su's feel like a firm handshake.

Both of the Urashimas were taken by surprised by this. For one, the normally quiet and reserved girl had just yelled and leaped into the arms of her not-so-secret love interest, something the young girl would never normally do unless she was truly terrified by something and for another, these were the first words she had spoken since he had first found her.

Keitaro looked down at the trembling girl attached to him. He had no idea what he was meant to do in this kind of situation but he did know that he had to calm her down so he gently stroked her blue hair and whispered to her

"It's alright Shinobu-chan, it's alright your safe here you know that, Haruka won't let anyone hurt you and I'll just be in the next room so you don't have to worry about a thing. OK?"

"NO! Don't you understand?! It wasn't her that saved me it was YOU! It wasn't Naru, it wasn't Motoko, it was **YOU!** I'm only safe with **_YOU!_**" The girl shrieked.

Keitaro relented, he could never say no to any of his girls up at the dorm let alone Shinobu, especially in her current state.

"OK Shinobu-chan I won't leave you. Come on, let's sit you back down." He led her over to sofa by the hand where Haruka was waiting.

"You alright Shinobu?" she asked. She nodded briefly but never let go of Keitaros hand.

"OK Shinobu-chan I have to ask you this. Can you remember what that pervert did to you?" she asked softly.

Shinobu shook her head and Haruka sighed once again.

"That's alright Shinobu-chan I understand. Listen I have to check you down there. Do you understand?" She nodded then looked up towards Keitaro.

"Do you want Keitaro stay while I look or should he step outside?"

As she sees the grip on her nephews hand increase to what seems like breaking point Haruka petted her free hand and smiled reassuringly at her. "OK, don't worry he can stay". She reaches into her apron for a wash cloth and handed it Keitaro.

"Here cover your eyes with this" he somehow managed to wrap the cloth around his head even though one had is still trapped by Shinobu.

Once he told her that he's ready she told Shinobu "OK Shinobu I have to take off your underwear and touch you down there, are you ready?"

Shinobu nodded and Haruka says "OK I'm going to start now". She said in a slow measured tone.

Keitaro, blinded by the cloth, could only hear the rustling of material and feel Shinobu squeezing his hand tighter than before.

He heard Haruka sigh and some more rustling before Haruka said "OK Kei you can take that off now". He tore off the blindfold and looked questioningly at his aunt.

"It looks like you got to her in time". She informed him.

Keitaro breathed a huge sigh of relief and pulled her into a hug, kissed her forehead and whispered "Thank god".

"So what now?" he asked aunt.

"Now we go to the police".

"**NO**!"

Both adults looked at their young friend in surprise.

"Please don't tell anyone about this. Please no one else can find out about this." She begged.

Haruka tried to reason with the distraught girl "Please Shinobu you have to let us call the police. What if this sicko tries to do it again?"

Keitaro sneered at this and told his aunt "Haruka, after what I did to that bastard it would be a medical miracle if he can piss straight let alone rape someone."

Haruka didn't doubt him when he said these uncharacteristic words, but then if you knew Keitaro as long as she had you wouldn't have been surprised at how protective he is of people he loves either.

She did glare at him for being counter-productive and was about to yell at him when Shinobu said

"Please I couldn't stand it if everyone found, please promise me that you won't tell anyone what happened."

Everyone knew about Urashimas and promises, Keitaro being the prime example of this but he had a habit of making promises that were nearly impossible keep and so he has been teaching himself to think things through before committing himself to something. His aunt, being far smarter and level-headed than him and so is able to work in a loop-hole to her promise.

"OK Shinobu-chan we promise not to tell unless we have to, is that alright?"

"Y-you too Sempai?"

"Yes me too Shinobu-chan" trusting his aunt to know what is best to do.

"Thank you" She whispered before the day's events finally caught up to her and she fainted.

* * *

They laid the young girl out on the sofa and covered her with a blanket and Haruka went to make some tea for her and her nephew while he watched over Shinobu. When she came back she gave him his cup and he said

"Why her Haruka, out of everyone in the world why her? Out of every person I have ever known or heard of, if there's one person that doesn't deserve it's her".

"These things just happen and we have no control over. Just be thankful that you were able to save her in time."

"But what will happen to her now, you saw how she was how scared she was when I was about to leave her. What if the damage done was more mental or emotional than physical?"

"I don't know Kei, I really don't know." she sighed.

"The girls will be wondering where me and Shinobu are by now." He said absentmindedly.

"Yeah but right now might not be the best time to take her up there."

"Why not?"

"You said it yourself, how will Naru and Motoko react to you carrying an unconscious and half naked Shinobu."

He smiled slightly and scratched the back of his head "oh yeah I guess you're right. Um could you - "

"Sneak into the dorm; grab one of Shinobu's shirts without being caught? Consider it done."

"You know I hate it when you do that Aunt Haruka" to which he receives a fan to the side of his head.

"And you know I hate it when you call me aunt!" she not so gently scolds him.

"hehe sorry must of slipped my mind" he said with a smile. He suddenly became more serious and said to her "Thanks Haruka, I really mean it. If you weren't here I would have been completely lost."

"Don't worry about, what use is being your favourite aunt if I can't help you once in a while." She smirks at him knowing what he is going to say next.

"Um aren't you my only aunt." -SMACK-

"I just told you not to call me that."

"But you just... I was just... I give up."

She gave him a small smile and told him to keep an eye on Shinobu while she went to get her clothes. Once he saw that is aunt had gone he walked back over to where his young friend was recovering.

He looked down upon the resting face of his young friend and he was relieved. From looking at her you could never imagine what had nearly happened to her not even an hour ago. Her eyes were covered by a few stray locks of blue hair but all in all she looked... peaceful.

Acting on instinct he reached down to brush the hair to the side of her pretty face. In doing so he woke the poor girl from her sleep. She slowly returned to the realm of conscious people. She looked around and was very surprised to see the smiling face of her Sempai who also had a hand stroking her hair.

"Sempai? Is that you? Where are we?"

"Yes it's me Shinobu-chan and we're down at Haruka's tea shop." He explains to her.

"Tea Shop? Why was I asleep down here? Unless... it wasn't a dream was it Sempai?" She added quietly.

"No I'm afraid it wasn't Shinobu-chan" he replied sadly.

She sat up and looked at her hands resting in her lap. After a minute of silence she began to shake and weep. Seeing this Keitaro scooped her up in his arms and embraced her. He whispered in her ear "Don't worry Shinobu-chan I promise I'll always look after you."

Shinobu escaped from his arms, looked at him and said "Sempai I can't ask you to do that for me, I can't ask you to give up your dreams, what about Naru and Tokyo U and finding your promise girl?"

Keitaro curses himself for doing it again. He was about to make a promise that would change his very life all because he spoke before he thought of the consequences. Shinobu was right, what about Naru and his 15 year old dream of getting into Tokyo U., could he just give all that up? He was still debating within himself when Shinobu's next words froze all his current thoughts.

"Besides I don't want to be a burden to you."

Those ten simple words broke Keitaros heart.

_'She thinks she's a burden to me?'_

Keitaro thought back over all the memories he has made since he came to Hinata Sou and he realised something. It was always Shinobu. When he was sad it was her smiling face that cheered him up, it was her that cheered him on whenever he lost faith in himself, her that made him his favourite food after a long days work, was always worried about him when he got 'punished'. Through it all it was always Shinobu that was there for him.

_'No I'm sure that can't be right' _he thought to himself. He then closely examines the other girls under his care:

First there was Su the sweet little girl who had adopted him as her spare Onii-san. While there was never any malicious intent in her 'Hello-kicks' or any of the times she used him as a test subject she still caused him a lot of pain.

Secondly there was Kitsune. While she rarely caused him pain directly she has always delighted in playing with his emotions in order to skip out on rent or to get some free sake. She was always tricking him into compromising positions in which he would get in trouble for. He knew it was all in good fun for her but she still caused him a lot of pain.

Thirdly there was Motoko, the beautiful kendo-girl. You would have thought that after all the time's he had helped her, shown her how kind he can be she would listen to his side of the story once in a while. Even though she only did it because she felt it necessary to protect her friends it still caused him a lot of pain.

Finally there was Naru the girl he loved, the girl who he opened up his heart to, the girl he was willing to give up his promise girl for. The girl had hurt him the most, always willing to take others sides over his, never listening to what he wants, even though he loved her she still caused him a lot of pain.

His mind drifted back to the girl in his arms and thought

_'The closest thing to an angel on this earth and she thinks she's a burden to me?!'_

Keitaro has always loved the young chief but he was unsure if it was a brotherly love or something more that he felt for her, the feeling was there though and it was defiantly love.

He thought about all the help she has given him since they met, everything that she has done for him. He thought of all times he has made her sad, made her cry, disappointed her and through all this she stuck by him.

_'She truly is an angel.'_ he thinks to himself.

Then he feels something he has never felt before.

Disgust.

Disgust with himself.

In that moment he sees what he thinks he truly is.

_'I'm no better than that rapist.' _He thought to himself.

Like a rapist he has used Shinobu countless time and not five seconds ago he was going to agree with Shinobu, that he shouldn't put his life on hold for her.

_'What kind of person am I? This angel has always been there for me and I was about to abandon her, discard her like she was nothing.'_

He started to feel sick at the thought of what he nearly did. He looked straight into the eyes of one of the people he considers most important and started to cry.

Shinobu saw this and thought that she was the cause. She tried to leave his arms but he pulled her closer to him and she heard him whispering

"I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I'm so sorry, please ..."

Over and over again he recited those words. She pulled back and looked at his tear filled eyes. She had never seen him like this before and never wanted to again.

"S-sempai? What's wrong? Please tell me I want to help you; I hate it when your sad Sempai please stop crying." Her words reached him and he stopped what he is saying to look at the girl.

"Sempai please tell me what you think you've done to be sorry about."

"I'm a terrible person Shinobu." He said looking away, unable to meet her eye.

"No you're not Sempai, what made you think you're a terrible person. You're the most wonderful person I know and one of my closest friends."

Keitaro flinched when she said this. "I don't deserve to be called your friend Shinobu-chan. What kind of friend would even think of abandoning you when you need them most? When you tried to talk me out of my promise to you I actually thought about listening to you. I actually thought about abandoning you for my own needs. Even after all the help and support you've given me since we met, I was willing to walk away from you. That's why I'm a terrible person and I don't deserve your friendship or your forgiveness." as he finished he started to cry again.

"Sempai" Shinobu said with tears in her eyes "whether you think you deserve them of not you have them. You don't even have to ask for them. You are my dearest friend, always trying to protect me, making sure that I'm happy and not an hour ago you saved my life. Because of you I'm alive and I wasn't raped and you will always have my friendship and forgiveness." She gathered all her courage and gave Keitaro a peck on the lips.

Keitaro was far too happy to be embarrassed by this and he hugged the girl to him, saying thank you over and over again. Shinobu didn't mind this as she was just happy that he was happy and that he was still part of her life.

They stayed like this for the next five minutes before someone cleared their throat and said "Not that I mind but some but some people might jump to the wrong conclusion if they see you hugging a shirtless girl in your lap."

Both of them looked up, their tears long since dried to see Haruka with a shirt in her hand and a small smile upon her lips.

It took a minute for what she said to register with both of them. When it did they both looked down to confirm that Shinobu was indeed topless and still being hugged by Keitaro, which made them both turn a deep shade of red and while Shinobu dived for the blanket that covered her a little while ago Keitaro looked for something to stop be blood pouring out his nose.

Haruka laughed lightly at the two before her. She handed Shinobu the shirt and told her to put it on. She waited until the two have composed themselves enough to get a coherent sentence out of them.

"It's good to see that you somewhat back to your old self Shinobu-chan, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you if your sure about not going to the police."

Shinobu looked at the floor while saying "I'm sorry but I don't want anyone else to know what nearly happened to me. I couldn't live with myself if everyone knew." As she thought about how humiliated she would be if everyone found out she begins to tear up. That is until she felt someone squeeze her hand. She stared at the hand and follows it up the arm and into the eyes of Keitaro.

"Shinobu-chan whatever you decide me and Haruka will support you. I promised you that I'll always look after you and I plan on doing just that in any way possible. And don't even think of trying to talk me out of it." he said smiled warmly at her

"Sempai." Shinobu murmured as her eyes once again fill with tears. She soon found herself in his arms again with him softly stroking her hair.

Across from the pair Haruka looked at her nephew and she had never felt as proud of him as she did right now. She could hear the conviction in his voice and she knew that no matter what he would keep this promise.

As the two separated from one another Shinobu looked at Haruka and saw her nod and smile in agreement at what Keitaro just said.

"OK then are you two ready to go up stairs now the girls are probably wondering where you are by now."

Keitaro stiffened as he hears this and realized what is likely to happen to him if he turns up late with Shinobu. He looked towards Haruka for help.

"Don't worry Kei I'll be coming up with you to stop any misunderstandings."

"Thanks Haruka."

So the three of them left the Tea rooms together and made their way up the Stone Staircase. Haruka allowed her two companions to go ahead so she can observe them. Apart from the fact that they were both a bit more nervous than usual (which is understandable seeing as what had just happened to Shinobu and what was likely _about _to happen to Keitaro) and that Shinobu was standing closer to him than her shyness would usually allow nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Haruka wasn't sure if this was a good thing of not but she believed that either one or two things had happened. Either Shinobu has developed a dependence on her nephew and could possibly become distressed if she spends any amount of time away from him or the relationship between the two has moved to a new level. What level this is will remain to be seen but it's obvious to nearly everyone how Shinobu feels about him and from how he acts around the young chief it's obvious that he cares about her but as to the nature of this affection is unknown to everyone.

Her musings were interrupted when she heard a woman yell "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO SHINOBU!"

Haruka sighs and picks up the pace to catch up with her nephew.

* * *

As soon as Keitaro and Shinobu reached the top of the stairs they heard

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO SHINOBU!"

Both Keitaro and Shinobu flinched when they heard the voice and Keitaro started to shake in fear.

"N-Naru I haven't been doing anything to Shinobu-chan".

"LAIR, I KNOW WHAT PERVERTS LIKE YOU DO TO INNOCENT GIRLS LIKE SHINOBU, NOW STAND STILL AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT!"

Naru pulled her arm back and let swing her strongest punch ever to deal with the pervert once and for all.

Imagine everyone's surprise when instead of a flying pervert they see a very pissed off looking Haruka with Narus fist safely in the palm of her hand.

To say that Haruka was angry was like saying that the North Pole was slightly chilly. Normally Haruka didn't involve herself in her nephews squabbles with his tenants, deciding that he was old enough to fight his own battles but after everything that just happened there was no way in hell that she would allow him to be punished for this.

Haruka pushed Naru back and she fell on the ground and said

"Both Keitaro and Shinobu have been helping me out down at the tea rooms. They asked me to call up here to tell you but I was too busy and it slipped my mind. So if you have a problem with that I suggest you take it up with me rather than my nephew."

She glared at each of the tenants in turn to make sure that none of them have a problem with that.

"Good, now if I see my nephew fly across the sky tonight I will be very annoyed is that clear?" Even Keitaro nodded his head at her. Satisfied that her point had been made she continued "Now it's been a long hard day so I'm going to down to my tea shop and have a drink, I may be up later to use the hot springs if I can be bothered walking up the steps again but if I don't come up it means I don't want to be disturbed tonight unless it's an emergency."

Only once she was certain that Haruka was out of ear shot Kitsune was the first to snap out of her thoughts and said

"Well that was unexpected wasn't it?"

* * *

**~11 O'clock Managers room~**

We find our lovable hero Keitaro lying awake in his futon staring at the ceiling unable to sleep with all of the day's events ruining through his mind. At the front of his mind was his poor Shinobu-chan and whether she is really coping with what happened or if she's just hiding it away. This thought then led to the revelation of Shinobu believing she was a burden on him and the others. He would have to find a way to boost her confidence and to reassure her that she wasn't a burden on anyone. This then led to him thinking about how he was meant to do anything without raising suspicion with the other girls. Thinking of this then led to another dozen issues that needed to be addressed which is why we find Keitaro awake at a time he would either be studying for the a test or sleeping the sleep of the exhausted. A soft knocking on his door interrupted his thought process.

He groggily turned on his side to face the door "Who is it?" he asks.

The door slowly opened to reveal a quite distressed Shinobu dressed in her pyjamas "um sorry to be um bothering you this late Sempai but um..."

"Shinobu-chan what's wrong is there something that I can help you with" he asked with a voice full of concern.

"Um Sempai I'm-m scared to sleep by myself tonight. S-so I w-was wondering if I could s-stay w-with you?"

Keitaro froze. What should he do? If the other girls found out they would kill him! And with Naru always poking her head through that hole we would be cau-

While his mind was going a mile a minute he suddenly remembered the promise he made to her.

_'I can't believe that I'd nearly broke my promise I only made to her a few hours ago'_ he scolds himself

Looking at Shinobu he smiled, slid over to the other side of the futon and said "Of course you can Shinobu-chan".

The look of relief that flooded her face was enough to banish any misgivings about letting her stay with him. When she lay down facing him he noticed she was shaking so he wrapped his arms around her giving her the comfort that she was looking for.

"Thank you Sempai I'm sorry for being such a bother to you." she says with a slight blush on her cheeks and her eyes unable met his.

Keitaro took the arm that was not trapped under Shinobu and used his hand to gently lift her face so their eyes met and to softly stroke her cheek with his thumb.

"Shinobu-chan, never think of yourself as a bother or a burden. If you ever need help please just ask, if you're sad, lonely, angry, confused please come see me so I can help you."

Shinobu saw the sincerity in his eyes and blushed even more "Thank you".

Keitaro smiled and tenderly kisses her on the forehead and says "Anything for you my Angel now get some rest OK."

Shinobu snuggled against his chest in order to feel better and she smiled. She might not know what would happen tomorrow, but right now? She was safe.

* * *

Well that's the end of my first ever attempt at writing fan fiction. I hope you all enjoyed it. Don't know if I'll be writing any more to this or not but I'll just have to wait and see if I get any inspiration. I do have some ideas basically showing Shinobu's growing dependence on Keitaro and maybe a scene where all the girls find out. But what do you people think should I leave this as a one-shot or try to continue it? Any ideas about what should happen (if I do use an idea of yours ill be sure to give you credit), any ways to improve or just any mistakes that you find please tell me. If you enjoyed it please tell me why if you hated it don't just say so. Please give a reason otherwise I can never improve. Any ways please leave a review regardless of your opinions.

Other things

1) I have no idea when this is set in the LH timeline but I know it's before Kei and Naru get together.

2)I also have no idea how old Shin is in this as when I was writing this I never gave it much thought till near the end so your guess is as good as mine.

3) If you're pissed off because of the things I said about Shin at the beginning don't be. I think her and Kanako are the best characters and what I said was sort of meant to be from Shin's perspective and how she feels in comparison to her friends with her low self esteem

4) If I do continue this Fic it will most likely be a keiXshin fic as the majority out there are Motoko based and while they are good stories I think there is a deficit of Shin fics

Well that's all I can think of but if you have any questions just ask and I'll try to get back to you.

Reviews:

I wouldn't normally answer a negative anonymous review since they are unlikely to see it but I felt like I should answer this one.

Electric Sheep - First of all thank you correcting me on my spelling. As I've said in answer to another review I am dyslexic and I do have trouble with my spelling. As for the change from first person to third person I don't see what you mean. If you are talking about past and present tense then yes it was wrong of me to do so and find it annoying and hard to read in my own fics but I do try and catch them. If you are talking about telling the story as if a character was telling the story (for example: "He approached me") I never did that unless you are talking about the parts in italic and with _'~~'_ surrounding them. Those are what the character is thinking and not a change of perspective.

Secondly I don't quite understand what you meant by **'the only people who can appreciate this story are untrained readers and writers who are more experienced than I am and can tolerate mistakes like this'** just because I forgot the 'e' in alley. I am not a professional writer and never claimed to be. This was my first attempt at writing something that would be read by more than a class of teenagers during an English lesson and I didn't and still don't have someone else looking over my chapter before I post them, just me who would be absolutely lost without spell check as I'm rubbish at spelling. As for the repetitive words I do try not to do that but I can't always catch them.

As for reading other books, with all due respect you know nothing about me. Just because I'm writing a fic about a manga doesn't mean that's all I read. I enjoy James Herbert, have read a few of Wilbur Smiths books as well as most of Terry Pratchetts books in the discworld series. And when you say I should read more **'to figure out which expressions have already been used' **are you saying that once a set of words in a particular order has been written that no one else can use them? Because if you are then that's just stupid.

You next point is **'Stop copying other people. Write your OWN goddam story'** it would help if you say what I copied. To my knowledge I have read only one other Love Hina fic which has a scene similar to mine at the very end of the fic and that was with Naru not Shinobu. Even so it is my take on a particular scenario. There are loads of Love Hina fic on this site that deal with Keitaro and Motoko losing to her sister and have to get married/ become a couple yet the fact that that idea has been done to death doesn't mean that new versions of it aren't worth reading.

Your final comment and the one stating that I should **'Write your OWN goddam story'** is what made me want to reply even though you probably won't read it. **'Don't write when you're horny or thinking about sex. If you need to write that kind of stuff, make a lemon, it doesn't belong in a "desperate plea for escape from rape" scene.'** ??? What the hell are you talking about?! I'm presuming that you've only read the first chapter so what part exactly made you think that I was horny when I wrote this? Was it when Keitaro noticed that her top had been torn off revealing her breasts or where Haruka has to check Shinobu to see if she was raped? Or maybe the part where she nearly was raped? Perhaps that's what turns you on but don't believe that because these scenes are included in other peoples work that they find this type of thing arousing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sempai, My Saviour**

Review comments/answers at end of Chapter. Updated the last chapter with minor changes so things flow better.

Update: re-read and caught some more errors for this and last chap.

* * *

**Last time on Sempai, My Saviour**

_Keitaro takes his arm that is not trapped under Shinobu and uses his hand to gently lift her face so their eyes met and to softly stroke her cheek with his thumb._

_"Shinobu-chan never think of yourself as a bother or a burden. If you ever need help please just ask, if you're sad, lonely, angry, confused please come see me so I can help you."_

_Shinobu sees the sincerity in his eyes blushes even more and says "Thank you"._

_Keitaro smiles and tenderly kisses her on the forehead and says "Anything for you my Angel now get some rest OK."_

_Shinobu snuggles against his chest in order to fell better and she smiles. She might not know what would happen tomorrow, but right now? She was safe._

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The sunlight drifted softly through the slightly open curtains and fell upon a pair of slumbering faces. Keitaro slowly awoke to the rather pleasant feeling of someone asleep in his arms. At first he dismissed it as Su deciding to use him as a security blanket instead of Motoko and so resigned himself to his fate.

_'If I'm going to get beaten for sleeping with Su again I might as well get a bit more sleep before all hell breaks loose and I'm punched, kicked and/or slashed for no reason.' _He thought with surprising clarity by any ones standards for that time in the morning. _'Wait, if this is Su then why aren't my ribs being crushed?' _He pondered as he was slowly waking himself up. He decided to risk seeing who is curled up next to him in his arms and when he saw who it was he immediately started to panic. He didn't even need to see the young girls face to instantly know who owned the blue hair.

_'OH MY GOD I'M SLEEPING WITH SHINOBU! How did this happen? The last thing I remember is...oh right she was afraid to sleep by herself.' _Sufficiently calmed down enough he looked down at his friend and thought to himself _'Beautiful, I wouldn't mind waking up like this every day.' _He suddenly realised what he just thought and blushed_. 'Where did that come from? I don't see her like that.' _Just then Shinobu woke up and looked at Keitaros smiling face. "Good morning Shinobu-chan did you sleep alright?" he asked her.

She blushed when she realises that she spent the entire night in his arms and said "Yes thank you Sempai, I'm sorry for being such a bother to you." She looked away from him, ashamed that she had inconvenienced him when she feels him pull her closer to him.

"Shinobu-chan I told you last night that you're never a bother to me, remember? And besides I don't mind waking up to see your beautiful face." Both blushed heavily as he said that and Keitaro thought _'What am I doing? Am I flirting with her?' _Shaking his head, he told her "We had better get up, the others are going to wonder where you and breakfast are. Do you feel up to doing it or would you like me to do it?"

Thinking for a moment she replied "I think I am."

Smiling at the young woman in his arms, he gave her a quick kiss to the forehead and said "OK, if you give me five minutes to get dressed I'll come down and help you."

Before she could reply, something happened that made both of them freeze and Keitaros blood run cold. The pair looked up in time to see the board that separated his and Naru's room slide away and an upside down head poke through. "Why the hell are you making so much noise this early in the mor-" she trailed off as she noticed that Keitaro is not alone. Not only is he not alone but he also has a girl in his arms. Not only is he not alone and has a girl in his arms, the aforementioned girl just happened to be Shinobu.

Before either of them could do anything Naru took a deep breath and yelled "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU PERVERT!" She dropped down from her room and drew her arm back. Shinobu is terrified by this sudden attacked; scared witless by the glowing fist travailing very fast towards them, and curled up into a ball to protect herself.

Keitaro is also scared out of his mind but caught Shinobus reaction. He also realised that if Naru was going to hit him with a full powered punch it would likely hit Shinobu as well and while he was miraculously able to survive whatever life at the Hinata threw at him he doubted if the same can be said for Shinobu. Thinking fast he positioned himself on top of the young girl to protect her from Narus wrath.

Naru, with no regard for Shinobu's safety, her mind solely focused on punishing the pervert in front of her, follows through and landed the punch squarely in the centre of his back but unlike any of the times before, Keitaro did not go flying out the window but took the punch as if it was nothing.

Keitaro looked down at the scared young girl beneath trembling in fright. His anger started to rise and he turned to confront the person who did this to his young charge. "Naru what the hell do you think you're doing!? You could have hurt Shinobu-chan with that stunt!" he yelled at her before turning to comfort the young girl.

Naru just stood there confused. This wasn't how things were meant to happen. Keitaro was meant to go flying, she was meant to comfort the poor girl he was trying to molest and he was meant to apologise to her for his perverse behaviour. This was completely wrong and all she could do was stutter an answer "I was... you were... she..."

"Whatever Naru just go." he dismissed her, not even looking up from Shinobu, still trying to calm her down.

"But I was just trying..."She attempted but was cut off.

"I know exactly what you were trying to do, just go". He stated not even looking at her.

Naru was shocked, not only had the fact that she could have severely hurt Shinobu just sunk in, she was just yelled at by Keitaro of all people. No one had ever talked to her this way let alone _him!_

_'What the hell is with this family?! First Haruka-san stops me from dealing with this pervert, when normally she wouldn't even bat an eye and then he yells at me for trying to save Shinobu-chan! What next, some crazy brother-loving adopted sister going to try and evict all of us and turn this place back into an inn?!' _Unsure of how to react to this she simply walked out in a daze, totally ignoring her best friend who was awoken by the shouting and was at least hoping for a good show as compensation for being woken from a dirty dream she was having.

She peered in to see what happened and saw Keitaro holding Shinobu. Thinking that this is the perfect opportunity for some teasing she didn't hesitate. "Well Keitaro I never knew you had it in you! And with Shinobu no less! No wonder..." She trailed off as she got a look form Keitaro that implied if she didn't be quiet she will find all her sake poured down the sink and all her rent will be collected by his aunt from now on. It was a very eloquent look. "OK I get the message" She said as she walked back to her room to start the days drinking. With Naru and Kitsune dealt with he turned his attention completely to the girl in his arms. He stroked her back until she calms down.

"There, there Shinobu-chan, don't worry your safe." His words got through to the young girl and she looked up at him.

"S-sempai? W-what happened?"

He sighed "Naru poked her head through the hole and jumped to the wrong conclusion." he informed her sadly.

"Oh, I see. Does she know why I was in here?" She asked worriedly

"No, she left before she asked, but Kitsune saw and she will probably ask us some questions later."

"W-what are we going to tell them? They are going to want to know why I was in here."

"Don't worry Shinobu-chan we'll think of something." In a moment of inspiration he told her "How about we tell them that you had a bad dream and you were too frightened to sleep by yourself. Do you think they will believe that?"

"I don't know." She mumbled.

"Well I suppose it will have to do unless we can think of something better." He smiled reassuringly at her and she gave a small smile back.

"OK, do you still feel up to making breakfast?" He waited for her to nod and said "OK go get dressed and I'll go down and start breakfast". He waited for the girl to close the door before he started to get dressed and head down stairs to wait for Shinobu. She joined him not long after and they worked together to create a big breakfast for the residents of Hinata Sou.

* * *

The breakfast table was quiet this morning. Keitaro and Shinobu were quiet in the hope that no one would bring up what had happened this morning. Naru was still trying to process the change that had happened to Keitaro. Motoko rarely talked during meals and today was no different. She made no mention of the incident she heard from the laundry deck. She presumed by the way Naru wasn't glaring at Keitaro that she had given him adequate punishment for whatever perversion he was committing and had no desire hear about what he had done this time. Su... well Su for the most part was Su. She still sucked in all the food that she horded on her plate, paying little attention to what was happening around her pausing only to have a quick sip of her drink. Kitsune was the one Keitaro was most worried about. She had not said a thing since she sat down and had the smile on her face that Keitaro knew and dreaded. What surprised him the most was that she had not said anything about what had happened this morning.

_'What's she up to? Normally she would have told Motoko by now and I would be on a free trip to the centre of Tokyo. Hopefully she will just try to black mail me and leave it at that.'_

"Well Shinobu-chan once again the meal was delicious, if you girls will excuse me I have some studying to catch up on. If you need me I will be in my room." He smiled at everyone as he gets up to leave. He almost got to the door of the dining area when

"Say, Keitaro why were you and Shinobu hugging in your bed in nothing other than your pyjamas?" Kitsune not so innocently asked.

Keitaro stoped mid-step as the temperature in the room dropped.

"So that's what you were doing this morning you Vile, Perverted Male! I will end your evil ways once and for all! **Shinmei-ryu no Jakuzankūsen!" **Motoko yelled as she gathered Ki around her sword. In one swift movement she unleashed a powerful attack against him which sent him flying out of the building at high speeds.

"SEMPAI!!" Shinobu yelled as she saw him fly out the building. She rushed to the front door but by the time she gets outside he is but a dot in the distance. "Sempai" she whispered. She started to go after him but when she got to the top step and she stopped. _'I-I can't go by myself. Sempai won't be there to protect me, it will happen again.'_ She thought to herself. _'I'm sorry Sempai, I'm not strong enough, I'm too scared to leave without you by my side, I'm sorry I can't help you.'_

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked up to see Motoko looking down at her. "Don't worry Shinobu-chan I will protect you from that pervert!" She told the girl with, in Shinobu's opinion, far too much enthusiasm in her voice.

"But he wasn't doing anything perverted to me. I was..." She suddenly stopped herself before she told them what happened the day before. "I had a bad dream and I asked Sempai if I could sleep with him. He did nothing wrong!"

"Oh" was the only thing she could think of to say to Shinobu's outburst. She suddenly she reflected on what she had done and felt guilty. This being Motoko, of course, the guilt instantly became anger and she directed her anger towards the usual target "Well that fool should know better than to spend the night alone with a young girl. It is not appropriate." She said in an attempt to justify her actions.

They both turned around to see a cackling Kitsune. "Ha ha ha I've never seen you hit that boy so hard before. It will take him ages to get back from where ever it is you sent him. Well, I suppose I'm gonna head out into the hot springs now anyone want to join me?" Everyone agreed that was an excellent idea except Shinobu who stated that she has some school work to finish.

Shinobu ran up to her room and locked her door behind her. She grabed the weird frog stuffed animal that Keitaro had won for her and hugged it to her chest. She alternated between staring off into the distance and looking out her window waiting for her Sempai to get home with tears in her eyes. _'It's my fault. It's always my fault when you get hurt. I'm so sorry Sempai please forgive me.' _She stayed like this for twenty minutes thinking the same thought over and over again staring out into space, occasionally glancing out her window to see if he had returned yet, gently rocking backwards and forwards.

-Knock- -Knock-

The sudden noise made the girl scream a little and run to the corner of the room furthest away from the door when a voice called out "Shinobu it's Kaolla, I know you're in there I heard you scream when I knocked, I need to talk to you."

* * *

**10 minutes earlier in the hot springs**

"Naru-sempai? May I ask you something?" Motoko enquired

"Of course Motoko-chan." she replied

"Have you noticed something wrong with Shinobu-chan?"

She thought for a moment and said "Now that you mention it she is acting weird."

"And her last two meals, while still superior to any meal you could find outside Hinata Sou, were not up to her usual standards."

"She's also been acting up around Keitaro." Kitsune put in with a sly grin "And they spent a lot of time together yesterday" her grin widened "And we found them in bed together, you don't think..." She trailed off knowing she didn't have to finish her sentence. There was silence in the Hot Springs for a moment before it the sounds of knuckles cracking and a sword being unsheathed filled the air even though the focus of their attention still hasn't returned. But then a guardian angel saved him without even realising it

"Nah, don't be sillys Fox-Lady, Keitaros likes Shinobus cooking too much too hurt her. Besides she isn't running away from him she's trying to protect him." Su explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which it was if your name wasn't Naru Narusegawa or Motoko Aoyama.

Naru and Motoko relaxed when they saw the logic in what Su said and Kitsune frowned lightly at the young foreigner for ruining her fun.

"I gota go, bananas to eat and inventions to make, seeyas!" Su cheered as she ran off

**10 minutes later**

The girls decided that they have had enough of the hot springs for now and went their separate ways. Motoko made her way to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea when she saw her manager walking in the front door. "It's about time you got back Urashima you have been neglecting you duties."

He just stared at her as if she's gone insane. Isn't the reason he hasn't preformed his duties because _She_ blasted him out of the building? "Motoko-chan why did you do attack me this morning." he asked for once wanting an explanation rather than just handing out apologies.

"You know why Urashima, you were taking advantage of Shinobu-chan."

"You didn't even let me explain! She had a bad dream and couldn't sleep by herself, what did you want me to me to do turn her away?"

"That is beside the point, you should know better than to spend the night with an innocent girl. Who knows what you could have done."

He looked at her shocked "Motoko do you really believe that I would, no, that I _Could _do something like that to Shinobu?"

Completely ignoring the tone of voice she said "I honestly have no idea what a pervert like you is capable of doing."

His eyes widened with hurt and then narrowed in anger "Very well _Aoyama-san_" he says emphasising the use of her family name as he walks passed her.

Shocked about the use of her last name but more so about the fact that _he_ was walking away from _her_, she yelled after him. "Urashima! How dare you walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

He turned around and says with mock cheerfulness "Sorry, but I'm sure you don't want to be associated with a potential rapist like me." Then continued to walk away leaving a speechless Motoko behind. _'I suppose I should check on Shinobu, she seemed pretty upset when I "left". I hope she's not too sad.' _He hurries towards Shinobu's room but stopped when he heard raised voices and when he realised that they were coming from Shinobu's room he moved faster. He looked in the open door of her room and saw Su standing in front of Shinobu, the girl sitting on her bed with tears in her eyes.

"Su-chan? Shinobu-chan? What's going on here?"

**A few minutes earlier**

Kaolla Su wasn't stupid. She was smart. In fact she is very smart. Most people pass her of as an idiot because she always asks if something tastes good. People often forget that Japanese is not her native language and not only is asking if something tastes good a very important question (up there with how to stop global warming and can I eat it?) it is also very funny to see the reactions of her friends.

Friends. Friends was the one thing that takes priority over eating. If there was one thing Kaolla Su knew besides how to make a Tasty Tama soup it is her friends, and since she came back yesterday her best friend had been acting strange.

While she wasn't doing anything openly strange it was the little things that caught her attention. She was spending a lot of time with Keitaro and hardly seems to be separated from him for long. Motoko wasn't the only one who had noticed the drop in quality in the past two meals. She had also seen and heard what had happened last night when Shinobu asked to sleep with Keitaro, while on her way to get a before midnight snack. This by itself was strange seeing as the girl blushed at the thought of being in the same room as the man. However she thought nothing of it at the time. When she said that she was too frightened to sleep by herself it was perfectly reasonable that she would go to Keitaro, after all he was very cuddly and was able to keep away her bad dreams away so why should this be different for the other girls? Besides there was food that needed to be eaten at the time. But now everything pointed to something being very wrong with her friend.

This is what led her to be standing outside of her best friends' room asking to come in

"Shinobu its Kaolla, I know you're in there I heard you scream when I knocked, I need to talk to you." After receiving no answer she tried again. "Please Shinobu it's really important."

"I'm sorry Su but I'm too busy to make you something to eat right now."

Su, slightly hurt that her friend thinks that's the only reason why she wants to talk her best friend is because she is hungry, insists "It's not about that please let me in."

"I'm sorry but I already told you I'm busy."

Su sighed and pulled out a screwdriver from god-knows-where and proceeds to take the door off by the hinges.

"Su! How did you open the door?" Shinobu asks shocked.

"That's not important what is important is what's been going on with you since yesterday."

Shinobu froze when she said that "W-what are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You've been acting weird since yesterday. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on. You're imagining things." She tried to dismiss the subject.

"Shinobu I'm your best friend. I know when something's wrong with you please just tell me!"

"Su-chan? Shinobu-chan? What's going on here?" a voice interjected, making them both look towards the open door to see Keitaro looking at both of them.

"Shinobu has been acting strange since you two came back yesterday and I want to know why."

Keitaro looked from Su to Shinobu and saw the tears of worry in her eyes. Sighing, he said "Su-chan can you give me and Shinobu-chan a minute please"

"But-" She started.

"Please Su-chan just give us a minute."

"...OK" She said reluctantly as she walked out the room, replacing the door as she does.

"OK Shinobu-chan what's going on?"

"Su knows something's going on. I tried to tell her nothing was wrong but she wouldn't listen." She looked down "I'm sorry you got hit again because of me again." She added quietly.

"Shinobu-chan you must never think like that, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. If didn't ask to sleep with you this would never have happened."

"Maybe, but if Naru hadn't jumped to conclusions, Kitsune wouldn't have found out and if it wasn't for Kitsune, Motoko would not have found out. So you see it was just as much their fault if not more so. So don't worry about it."

"OK" She said with a little smile.

"Now what are we going to do about Su?"

"I-I don't know. She knows something is going on but not what. What should we tell her?"

He thought for a moment and said "Shinobu-chan, I think we have to tell her."

"B-but I don't-"

"I know you don't want anyone else to know but will you please hear me out?" He waited for her to nod before continuing."She already knows something's going on and I don't think we will be able to lie to her. Also I'm worried about when you have to go back to school after the holidays. I won't be able to be there for you when you're at school. I will be able to walk you there and back if you want but I won't be able to be in school with you and I would feel better if there's someone to look after you when you're at school." He sighed when the girl said nothing to him "Look Shinobu-chan the decision is yours if you want to tell her or not but just remember that Su-chan is your best friend, she won't think any less of you or love you any less than she does now OK? Whatever you decide I'll still support you."

He gave her time to think about what he has said to her. He was about to ask her if she was alright when she said "I-I think I want her to know."

"OK I will go get her alright?" he smiled at her and walked over to the door.

"Su-chan? You can come in now." he told the girl. Su walked to the middle of the room and waited for an explanation. "Before we can tell you anything you have to promise not to tell anyone OK?" Keitaro told her.

"Of course." She replied

Shinobu took a deep breath and said "Yesterday I was nearly r-raped"

It took a moment to sink in "YOU WERE WH-MMMMMM MM MM" she began to yell before Keitaro, who had anticipated something like this happening, clamped a hand around her mouth.

"Su-chan please you can't yell like that, the other girls will hear!" he begged the girl. When she calmed down he releases her and she rushed over to embrace her friend.

"Oh my god, Shinobu are you OK, please tell me what happened, why didn't you tell me?" Su questioned the girl at a high speed.

Shinobu looked up at her with tears in her eyes and said "Because I didn't want people to know! It's bad enough that Sempai and Haruka-san knows about it!"

"Wait Haruka knows about it!? How come she knows about it before me?"

"Su-chan if you calm down we will tell you. OK?"

For the next five minutes Keitaro told Su how he saved Shinobu from the rapist, how he went to his aunt for help instead of bringing her up here. All the while he is talking to her she never let go of Shinobu. When he finished the story Su thought for a moment then stood up, walked over to Keitaro and gently hugged him, while whispering in his ear "Thank you for protecting Shinobu-chan."

Surprised by the gentle hug instead of the rib cracking one he usually gets, it took him a minute to return the hug. "Any time Su-chan" he whispered back to her. As she left the hug, she returned to her friend to give her a slightly firmer hug to reassure her.

"Please Shinobu don't keep things like this to yourself. You can always tell me anything and I'll always try to help you."

"I know it's just that-"

"I understand, don't worry about it." Su smiled at the girl and hugged her again. Keitaro smiled at the two girls happy that they are still friends. "OK girls I have to get to work fixing the hole I made this morning are you going to be OK?"

Shinobu looked up at him and said "I think so." Su smiled a big toothy grin and nodded her head.

"OK I'll see you two at lunch." he said with a smile before going to repair the hole he and Motoko made.

Lunch time quickly came around and everyone noticed that Shinobu seemed happier than earlier and also the quality food has returned to Shinobu's usual standards.

"Can someone please pass the soy sauce?" Everyone looked at the sauce next to Keitaro but he doesn't respond.

"Hey idiot you gone deaf Motoko asked you to pass the sauce." Growled Naru, who had since gotten over her confusion the same way she usually did i.e. by being angry at Keitaro.

He didn't even look up when he said "I'm sure Aoyama-san wouldn't want anything from me."

Everyone looked a little surprised by the formal address he rarely uses with her. "Err, Kei what do you mean by that?" Kitsune asks him.

"Well seeing as she thinks I'm a potential rapist I don't think she would want my help."

"I did not say that!" she replied angrily, feeling slightly guilty over the exchange that happened earlier, but not entirely sure why.

"As good as." he muttered.

"Stop being overly dramatic you idiot."

"Whatever." he said not wanting to get into an argument. "At least some people don't think I'm a pervert." he said quietly to himself.

However he hadn't said it as quietly as he had hoped, as Naru heard and interpreted it as meaning Shinobu.

"Well if you like Shinobu-chan so much why don't you just go out with her?!"

Angry at being drawn in a fight he yells "Fine I will!"

"WHAT!!" Everyone yelled and including Keitaros mind, having just caught up with what his mouth said.

Realising that he would look like a fool even more so than usual if he backed down he turned to Shinobu and says "Shinobu-chan would you like you to go on a date with me this afternoon?" He asked with a smile.

"R-really?" She asked with her eyes as big as saucers, too shocked by the prospect of going out on a date with her Sempai to blush.

"Of course. Seeing as we have Naru-san's blessing it won't be a problem. So do you want to go?"

"YES!" She said a bit quicker and a bit louder than she wanted.

"OK how about we leave at 3?"

"That's fine."

"OK I'll be in my room if anyone needs me." he smiled at her picks up his plate and leaves.

Everyone was shocked by this turn of events. Well everyone except Su and Shinobu, the former not paying attention as long as there was some food left on her plate and the latter only thinking _'I'm going on a date with Sempai! I'm going on a date with Sempai!'_

Once again Kitsune was the first to recover "Well that was unexpected wasn't it?" to which Naru and Motoko could only nod.

* * *

The next couple of hours were filled with Naru studying to block out the feelings of jealousy she was having for some reason, Motoko running through her schools Kata's to get rid of the feelings of guilt which were appearing from somewhere, Kitsune drinking in preparation for the show that was going to start at 3 o'clock, however fell into a drink induced nap, Su was chasing around Tama yelling something about making tama soup, while Shinobu rifled through her closet to find something to wear for her first ever date, and Keitaro was just trying to stay out of everyone's way.

3 O'clock came around and with everyone embroiled with their own activities no one was there to see the couple off.

"Sempai, I'm ready." Shinobu said as she descended the stairs and saw Keitaro waiting for her.

"Hey Shinobu-chan, how are..." he trailed off as he stared at the vision of loveliness before him. She wore a pale blue sundress which hugged her small frame, accentuating her slight curves and only a light touch of makeup on her face, complementing her already beautiful features. "Wow." He murmured.

Blushing, Shinobu asked "Is there something wrong Sempai?"

"N-no it's just you look really beautiful." He stuttered.

Shinobu blushed a deeper red at the complement and said bashfully "Thank you Sempai, shall we go?"

"S-sure" he said, still admiring the beauty of the young woman before him. Waking out the front door together and towards the stairs, Shinobu reached the first step but froze, thinking that she wouldn't be safe if she leaves the protection of Hinata Sou and started to have second thoughts about going out on the date.

She was about to move away from the steps when Keitaro took a hold of her hand. Surprised at the intimate contact between her and her crush, she looked up at his smiling face. Keitaro had noticed Shinobu's hesitation and had correctly guessed that she was nervous about leaving the safety of the dorm.

"Don't worry Shinobu-chan. I'm right here; I won't let anything happen to you."

Feeling more confident she griped his hand tightly and moved slightly closer to him and smiled "OK let's go."

With that they both head off for their first date.

* * *

Well that's another chapter done. I know there's not much romance yet but I'm trying to build up to it and I should start the romance in the next chapter or the one after. No idea how long this fic will be or when I'll be able to update. I hope you were able to keep up with all the jumping around near the end. Again after a week I will re post this Chapter with improvements, corrections and review comments/answers if there are any or if I post a new chapter before a week I will do it then.

Other things

1) I think I should apologise for the little Kanako cameo. She's one of my two favourite Hinata girls (the over being Shinobu) but I can't think of a way to work her into this fic so I thought I should give her a quick mention, even if it did make me cringe a bit to do it like that.

2) Shinmei-ryu no Jakuzankūsen is "Lesser Air-Cutting Flash" .

3).When Su speaks in the hot springs chances are the spelling mistakes are on purpose.

Reviews:

Midrom - Yeah, that was me being lazy. I think I clicked on to cut instead of copy. I fixed it so I hope it makes sense now.

Starfire99- When I wrote that A/N I wasn't sure if I would continue the story as I wanted to see what the reviews said and if I got any inspiration. As you can see I obviously have had some ideas

Cheshire Cat5- Yeah it was meant to be angel but i have dyslexia so I sometimes mess up the order of the letters. Also I get what you're saying about the swearing but I think Kei was justified in doing so as he was panicking and worried about what happened to Shin. But I probably won't be using F*ck any more at the worst ill probably use 'hell'.

drag0nsclaw - I agree I think the age gap is too big so the ages will be

Kei & kit - 20

Naru - 18

Motoko - 17

Su & shin - 16

Not sure when I'm gonna put it in but I've got an idea about how they're going to confess to each other

Thanks to all of you who reviewed the first chapter and I hope you enjoy this one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sempai, My Saviour Chapter 3**

Review comments/answers at end of Chapter. Updated the last two chapters with minor changes so things flow better.

* * *

**Last** **Time on Sempai, My Saviour**

_The next couple of hours were filled with Naru studying to block out the feelings of jealousy she was having for some reason, Motoko running through her schools Kata's to get rid of the feelings of guilt which were appearing from somewhere, Kitsune drinking in preparation for the show that was going to start at 3 o'clock, however fell into a drink induced nap, Su was chasing around Tama yelling something about making tama soup, while Shinobu rifled through her closet to find something to wear for her first ever date, and Keitaro was just trying to stay out of everyone's way._

_3 O'clock came around and with everyone embroiled with their own activities no one was there to see the couple off._

_"Sempai, I'm ready." Shinobu said as she descended the stairs and saw Keitaro waiting for her._

_"Hey Shinobu-chan, how are..." he trailed off as he stared at the vision of loveliness before him. She wore a pale blue sundress which hugged her small frame, accentuating her slight curves and only a light touch of makeup on her face, complementing her already beautiful features. "Wow." He murmured._

_Blushing, Shinobu asked "Is there something wrong Sempai?"_

_"N-no it's just you look really beautiful." He stuttered._

_Shinobu blushed a deeper red at the complement and said bashfully "Thank you Sempai, shall we go?"_

_"S-sure" he said, still admiring the beauty of the young woman before him. Waking out the front door together and towards the stairs, Shinobu reached the first step but froze, thinking that she wouldn't be safe if she leaves the protection of Hinata Sou and started to have second thoughts about going out on the date._

_She was about to move away from the steps when Keitaro took a hold of her hand. Surprised at the intimate contact between her and her crush, she looked up at his smiling face. Keitaro had noticed Shinobu's hesitation and had correctly guessed that she was nervous about leaving the safety of the dorm._

_"Don't worry Shinobu-chan. I'm right here; I won't let anything happen to you."_

_Feeling more confident she griped his hand tightly and moved slightly closer to him and smiled "OK let's go."_

_With that they both head off for their first date._

* * *

As Keitaro and Shinobu walked down the stairs he never lets go of her hand. _'This is kind of nice.' _he thought _'Naru barely lets me walk beside her when we go out; it feels good to hold someone's hand and not be sent to the moon.'_

"So Shinobu-chan is there anywhere you want to go?" He asked her with a smile. "I think Haitani and Shirai still work at Kabagawa Never-land so we could go there if you want." She thought for a moment and as much as she would like to go she was worried about the amount of people that will be there. Just as she was about to tell him that when he pre-empts her "Too many people?" he asked, surprisingly perceptive for him "Don't worry about it, how about we go for a walk in the park instead? And maybe get something to eat as well?" He suggested, smiling.

Shinobu considered this and decided that she liked that idea and told him so. "That sounds good to me Sempai."

He laughed lightly and said "You know Shinobu-chan you can call me Keitaro if you want. We're friends right? So you don't have to be so formal with me."

"OK Keitaro-kun" She agreed with a glorious blush on her cheeks. He grinned at her as they continued on down the stone stairs. As they reached the bottom, they came across Haruka sweeping the entrance to her tea shop. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed that Shinobu's face is bright red and shy smile adorned her face, as well as the two hands joined together.

"Hey Kei-kun, Shinobu-chan. What are you two up to?" _'As if I couldn't guess.' _She thought with an internal smirk.

"Hi Aun- I mean Haruka." he quickly amended.

Haruka, with her fan already halfway to Keitaro's head, smiled lightly and said "There may be some hope for you yet." Keitaro just rubbed the back of his head and gave her a goofy grin. "So what are you two doing?" She asked again still not getting an answer to her original question.

"Sem- I mean Keitaro-kun is taking me to the park." Shinobu told her, blushing an even deeper shade of red.

Haruka was slightly surprised at the informal address the girl had just used, but obviously did not show it. _' "Keitaro-kun" is it?' _She thought, slightly amused by this. _'I think that's the first time I ever heard her call him by anything other than Sempai.' _"Is that so? It's about time you got yourself a pretty girlfriend like Shinobu-chan." She teased them.

As expected both of them blushed but what surprised her was that neither of them was really denying what she just said. Looking behind them, she expected to see a group of very poorly hidden girls keeping an eye on her nephew but was surprised to see no one following them.

_'I would have thought that the girls would have been following them. Naru and Motoko normally don't let him be alone in the same room as her, let alone allowing them to go out together, and Kitsune should be around to get stuff to blackmail Keitaro about.'_

"Well I've got work to do so I'll let you two get back to what you are doing. See you later." With that she walked back into her shop leaving the pair by themselves. Still holding hands the both of them walked to the tram station just enjoying each other's company, all the while the blush on Shinobu's face never faded; neither did the smile on her dates face.

They boarded the tram and Keitaro positioned himself behind her in the crowded tram. _'With all the stuff she's been through she doesn't need some guy trying to feel her up.' _He thought with a small amount of venom, looking around to see if there are any potential perverts in the tram. The tram started with a jerk which made Shinobu stumble and fall. Just as she's about to hit the floor a strong arm wraps around her waist, caught and pulled her back up.

She looked behind her to see that it was Keitaro who owned the arm and that he was looking down at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you alright Shinobu-chan?"

"Y-Yes Keitaro-kun I'm fine. T-Thank you for catching me." She replied with a blush when she noticed that he still had an arm around her waist.

Keitaro also noticed that his arm is around her waist and blushed but makes no move to remove it. He waited to see how she would react to this and took it as a good sign when she lightly leaned back into his chest, blushing harder than ever before, and also causing Keitaro to turn a deep shade of red.

The people around them looked on at their shy antics with much amusement, making comments about how sweet the both of them are and what a cute couple they make which caused the two blush even deeper. As embarrassing as it was Keitaro never removed his arm. It wasn't often that he got to be this close to a girl who he wasn't related to him without being punched to the next prefecture and he liked this new experience.

Much to their relief their station soon arrived and the two quickly hurried away from prying eyes and embarrassing comments. When they stopped to catch their breath they looked at each other and burst out laughing when they notice each other's blush.

"Well that was strange wasn't it Shinobu-chan" Keitaro remarks with a grin. He then holds out his hand to his date and said "Well shall we continue to the park?"

Shinobu looked at the hand for a moment before shyly grabbing it and standing nearly shoulder to shoulder with him "OK." With that the both walk slowly together, hand in hand, the short distance to the park.

They spent their time admiring the beauty of the area around them, talking about anything that came to mind, just enjoying the company and the lovely day that they had together. Before either of them knew it over an hour had passed.

Keitaro looked down at his young friend and hesitantly asked "So Shinobu-chan, are you having a good time?" both dreading and wanting an answer.

"I'm having a wonderful time. Thank you Keitaro-kun" She said while her ever present blush deepened.

"I'm glad Shinobu-chan. You know if you ever want to go out like this again you just have to ask."

"R-really?" She asked with a hopeful look in her eye.

"Of course Shinobu-chan. I've had a great time." He grinned

"Well, Well what have we got here?" a voice interrupts their conversation. Looking up they see three thugs have walked up to them and were leering at Shinobu. "Now what is a good looking girl doing with a loser like him." the leader smirked.

"Look we don't want trouble. Just leave us alone." Keitaro tried to reason with the leader.

"I wasn't talking to you!" the leader glared at him. "So what do you say you ditch this guy and come have some fun with us?"

"N-no thank you" Shinobu whimpered moving closer to Keitaro.

"Alright, we have already asked you to leave us alone, so could you please ju- " -CRACK- Keitaro never finished his sentence as one of the thugs had gotten behind him and hit Keitaro on the back of the head with a metal pipe he had been hiding.

With Keitaro on the ground he discarded his weapon and set about kicking his prone form with his friends. Shinobu could only watch as her friend and protector was beaten badly, her voice lost in her fear. When they got tired of beating on Keitaro they turned their attention to Shinobu.

"So are you sure you don't want to have some fun with us?" The leader leered evilly at her.

Understanding what he meant she started to back up away from them only to trip and fall backwards. She started to crawl backwards, terrified that this was happening again after such a short time. The men slowly approached the girl figuring that there was no need to rush since they were in a secluded part of the park.

The leader moved closer to Shinobu, mentally planning the things he would do to her, when he heard a -CRACK- and a painful scream followed by another -CRACK- and another scream. When he turned around he was in time to see a bloodied Keitaro half way through a swing to his head with the pole his friend had discarded. There was no time to do anything as the heavy pole quickly finished its journey and with a sickening -CRACK- his cheek bone was shattered and he was thrown away by the force of the hit.

A panting Keitaro dropped his recently acquired weapon and limped over to Shinobu. He knelt/collapsed next to her and asked "Are you OK Shinobu-chan?"

"S-sempai..." was all she could say to him.

Keitaro gave her a painful smile and said "I thought I told you to call me Keitaro."

Despite the situation she lets out a small laugh. "I'm fine Keitaro-kun" she answered his previous question. "But what about you, how can I help you?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

Keitaro pulls out his mobile phone and hands it to her "Could you please call someone for help, I think I should go get checked out in a hospital." he asked her weakly.

"Of course" she replied as she grabbed the phone and quickly calls for help.

Within 15 minutes a police car and an ambulance had turned up to answer her call for help.

* * *

**Meanwhile Back At Hinata Sou**

Naru was still staring down at her text book, not taking anything in. _'What the hell is that pervert playing at? He probably can't wait to get poor Shinobu-chan all by herself and try something with her!'_ She yells in her mind. _'And why did Shinobu-chan agree to go out with that idiot. She knows that he's a pervert, me and Motoko have told her this time and time again so why did she agree to this stupid date?'_

She turned the page of her textbook more out of habit than actually reading the page.

_'I know! That pervert must be blackmailing her into going out with him! What other reason would do it?' _Completely ignoring the fact that she was the one that suggested that they go on a date. _'There's no way I'm going to let that pervert be alone with an innocent girl like Shinobu-chan!' _She looked towards the clock on the wall and froze when she saw the time.

_'OH MY GOD IT'S 4:30!' _She then proceeded to race about the dorm in the vain hope that they haven't left yet. When she found no trace of the pair she yelled.

"MOTOKO! KITSUNE! SU! GET DOWN HERE!" loud enough to wake even the comatose Fox. Within moments the lounge was filled with one swaying girl, one girl bouncing off the walls and one with a sword in her hand.

"Naru-sempai, what is the matter!" Motoko asked.

"It's 4:30! That means Keitaro and Shinobu-chan have been gone for over an hour!"

"Spirits! Your right! Who knows that that pervert could have done to her without our supervision!" Motoko agreed."We must track him down and punish him for his perverse ways!" she continued with fire in her eyes.

"And how do you expect to find them? They left over an hour ago, they could have gone anywhere." Kitsune put in.

"Well... well..., I know we'll use one of Su's Keitaro-Detectors!" Naru suggested.

"Nopes, no can do!" Su informed the others with her usual cheerfulness.

"WHAT? WHY NOT!" Naru yelled at the young girl.

" 'cause I turned them all into Tamago-Detectors!" She cheered.

"Why did you turn them _all _into tamago-detectors?" Kitsune, the most level headed/sane, asked.

"Well if one takes 30 minutes to find the flying snack-box then with 10 it will only take 3 minutes!" She explained the logic which only applies to her.

"Whatever, can you turn them back?" Naru asked impatiently.

"Nopes, ain't gots the parts to do it! Besides how would I catch Tama without them?"

Naru ignored the question "Fine. We'll just have to go and try and find them!"

"And how are you going to do that, check all the love hotels in Tokyo?" Kitsune countered, gently adding fuel to the fire and getting her Manager into deeper trouble.

Naru almost broke her fingers clenching her fist so hard. "Well, what do you suggest we do then?"

"I say we just wait for them to come back, that way you won't miss him." _'And I won't miss the show.' _she added silently to herself.

Naru and Motoko both reluctantly accepted Kitsune's logic, and started to make plans as to how they would punish Keitaro for defiling Shinobu.

* * *

**One Ambulance Ride, Many Medical Tests, Police Interviews And Hours Later At Tokyo Hospital**

"Well Urashima-san, I must say you are quite remarkable." His doctor told him. "When you came in you looked like hell! But now just look at you now!"

Keitaro just grinned and scratched the back of his bandaged head. "So does that mean that I'm going to be OK?"

"Yep, apart from a minor concussion, a couple of bruised ribs and the stitches in the back of your head you're perfectly fine. The usually procedure is to keep you in for a couple of days but with the rate you're recovering you should be able to leave by tomorrow morning, and the stitches should be able to come out in about a week." She assured both the patient and his friend. Both of them sighed in relief.

"Thanks Sensei. Is there anything else?"

"Nope, just get a good night sleep and we will see how you're doing in the morning. I'll send a nurse in to give you a sedative in a couple of minutes to help you sleep." She informed the pair with a smile and then left.

"Well that's a huge relief isn't Shinobu-chan?" he looked over to his young friend and noticed the sad look on her face. "What's wrong Shinobu-chan?"

"I'm sorry you got hurt because of me again." she whispered.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" He asked gently, genuinely confused by how she could see this as her fault.

"W-whenever I'm around you, you always get hurt. I-I'm sorry." Shinobu told him with tears in her eyes.

"Shinobu-chan how can you possibly think that?"

"It's true! You would never have gotten hurt if I didn't go out on this date with you."

"Please Shinobu-chan don't talk like that. It's not your fault."

"But it is! You're always hurt because of me!" She cried

Keitaro sighed. "Shinobu-chan, if **_I_ **didn't ask you out then **_I_** wouldn't have got hurt." When Shinobu tried to interrupt he continued on over the top of her. "And if Naru hadn't said anything I wouldn't have invited you out in the first place."

Seeing the hurt look on her face and just hearing how it must have sounded to her and his arms start to flail around. "No-no Shinobu-chan I didn't mean it like that! What I meant was I wouldn't have normally asked you out because I never thought that you would want to go out me."

This caught Shinobu off guard "W-what do you mean? Why wouldn't I want to go out with you?"

"Well I mean just look at us. You're beautiful, smart, caring, talented, kind; you're the greatest cook I've ever met. And just look at me I'm not good looking, I'm clumsy, I failed the Toudai entrance exam 3 times, the only real jobs I've ever had were working in my parents bakery and running a girls dorm where most of the residents think I'm a pervert and... well I guess that I never thought that you would be interested in someone like me." _'Not to mention the fact that Naru and Motoko would kill me for even thinking about going out with you.' _he adds to himself.

Shinobu looked at him with a shocked expression. She couldn't remember how many times she thought the same, only about herself. She had no idea how to react to being told by her Sempai that he thought she's beautiful.

"Look, Shinobu-chan, don't think for a second that I could ever blame you for these things. There is no way that I could ever do that!" He smiled at her.

Before she could reply a nurse walked in "Alright Urashima-san, I'm here to give you your sedative." She looked over to Shinobu and said "I'm afraid that you are going to have to go home now. You can't stay the night."

"B-but, please, please let me stay." Shinobu begged.

"I'm afraid that I can't let you stay it's against hospital policy... to... let.." She faltered when she was assaulted by a pair of blue puppy dog eyes.

"Fine you can stay." She relented with a sigh. She proceeded to give the sedative and to Keitaro which he went ouch as the needle went in. Shinobu suddenly realised something and asked

"Um, is there somewhere that I can make a phone call?"

"Yes just down the hall on the right" the nurse explained "I'll go and find you a pillow and blanket so I'll be back in a moment" she told the two as left.

"Who are you going to call?" Keitaro asked her.

"Haruka-san, it just occurred to me that no one knows where we are."

Keitaro visibly paled when he realised what the girls would do to him when he got back after staying out all night with Shinobu.

"Yeah, I guess we did forget didn't we." he chuckled nervously to himself as Shinobu went to make the phone call. The phone was right where the nurse had told her and it didn't take more than two rings for the person at the other end to pick up.

¬Hello Hinata Tea Rooms¬**."**

"Hello, Haruka-san? It's Shinobu."

¬Oh, hey Shinobu-chan, what's up. It's getting pretty late you know, where are you and Keitaro?¬ Haruka's voice said.

"Um, that's what I'm calling about. You see, um we ran in to some trouble and um, we're at Tokyo hospital right now." she answered

¬What? What happened? Are you and Keitaro alright?¬

"We're fine Haruka-san, Keitaro-kun has a minor concussion and a few bruised ribs and a few stitches but the doctor said that he would be able to leave by tomorrow morning." She informed the worried aunt.

¬Oh, that's a relief, what about you do you need me to come pick you up?¬ In the background Shinobu thought that she could hear someone yelling but it was too muffled to make out.

"Um, no that's fine I'll stay here with Sempai." the young girl answered with a light blush.

¬Is that so?¬ She asked in a tone of voice that made her blush deepen ¬Well if you're sure, I'll be by in the morning to pick you up and check on my nephew. What ward and room is he in?¬ Once she was told what she wanted to know Haruka said ¬OK, Shinobu-chan, I'll see you tomorrow, tell Keitaro-kun I hope he's alright.¬

When she said she would, Shinobu hung up the phone and made her way back to Keitaro's room. There she found the pillow and blanket the nurse said she'd bring in as well as a doped up, semi-conscious Keitaro.

She made her way over to the blanket and pillow and started to arrange two chairs to form a make-shift cot for herself next to Keitaro's bed when she heard him say "Shinobu-chan what are you doing?" his voice slightly slurred due to the drugs.

"I'm making myself a bed." She informed him.

"Why? You can just sleep here." he said as he pulled his covers down so she could crawl in next to him.

"B-b-but we're in a hospital it wouldn't be apropra-eep!" her protest was cut short as he grabbed her hand and swiftly pulled her into bed and covered them with the blanket.

"There, much better. I like waking up with Shinobu" he told her as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a hug, the drug almost completely wiping out his inhibitions.

"K-Kietaro-kun I shouldn't be MMM-!" her protest, once again cut off by Keitaro, only this time by him placing a gentle kiss onto her lips, which effectively stopped all thoughts of leaving his arms the girl was currently entertaining.

When he released her lips he smiled sleepily at her before pulling her tightly to his chest and slurred "Good night Shinobu-chan." Before he finally dropped off Shinobu heard him mumble "..inobu taste nice." Which of course made so much blood rush to her face that she was in danger of passing out.

Resigning herself to the not very unpleasant situation she found herself in she sighed contently, snuggled closer to the man who held her in his arms and promptly went to sleep.

* * *

**Several Minutes Earlier at The Hinata Tea Rooms**

We find Haruka Urashima closing up for the day. As she cleaned the last dirty table she thought about the events that have occurred recently. She thought about what poor Shinobu had gone through and how proud she was of her nephew but at the forefront of her mind was not the pair that she had seen off on their date but the girls that were left behind, or more specifically their treatment of her nephew.

_'I can't believe how Naru reacted yesterday.' _she thought _'I know she's got a short temper when it comes to men but that was ridiculous. Kei was just walking up the stairs next to her and she tries to take his head off! I dread to think what would have happened if he tripped and took someone's clothes off like he normally does.'_

Haruka lit up another cigarette and sighed _'I know that he's a clumsy idiot sometimes and that he's probably seen those girls naked more times than their future husbands ever will, but she didn't even give him a chance to explain and all he did was walk up the stairs at the same time as Shinobu. I wonder how many times I've seen him fly overhead when he didn't deserve it.'_

The smoking woman had long ago decided to take a hands off policy when it came to her nephew and his tenants, figuring that he'd get nowhere with the girls if she coddled and fought his battles for him, but she was beginning to regret her laid back attitude to her nephews situation.

_'I suppose I should take a greater interest in what goes on up there before Keitaro either gets seriously hurt or decides to leave this place for good. I doubt mum would be too happy about either of those possibilities, to say nothing about how my brother and sister-in-law would react to finding out that he's been used as a punching bag pretty much since he got here, let alone what his crazy sister would do to those girls.' _Her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at her door. Sighing she moved over to the door to shoo away whoever was there.

"I'm sorry but we're closed, you'll have to come back tomo- oh hi Su-chan, what are you doing down here so late?" She looked down to see her young foreign friend, standing at the door looking nervous.

"Hi Haruka can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure come on in." Haruka replied, a bit worried since Su was the only one up at the dorm who had never come down to talk or to get advice, nor had she ever hear her use that serious tone of voice. Haruka let the girl in and went to get a cup of tea for them both while Su sat down at a table. Thinking better of it she returns with a banana instead of a cup of tea for the girl, which was quickly consumed. "So Su-chan what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, um, I'm a bit worried about Shinobu and Keitaro." The girl looked around as if she was doing something bad.

This caught her attention. "Really? Why?" she asked, getting a bit worried.

"Well Keitaro and Shinobu left at like 3 this afternoon and are still not back and Naru and Motoko are getting more mad at him."

"Huh their still not back? Well I'm sure their fine. You know Keitaro wouldn't do anything or let something bad happen to her." She reassured the young girl although a pit of worry in her stomach appeared. Her nephew was an idiot but was smart enough to know what would happen if he came back this late with Shinobu.

"Yea, I know that Shinobu is safe with him but I'm still worried. 'specially after what happened to her yesterday, but I'm also worried about what will happen to Keitaro when he gets back." she looked up at her with a sad face.

"What happened yesterday?" She feigned ignorance.

"Haruka, Keitaro and Shinobu told me what happened before they came home, I know what Keitaro saved her from and I know you know." Su gave a little smile but refrained from actually saying what nearly happened, not wanting to think of her friend in that type of situation.

"Oh, I see." was all she could say, surprised that Shinobu actually told someone about it given her reaction about going to the police. "Well it's good that she has someone else to help her. Anyway I can call Keitaro's mobile to see where he is if you want." Seeing her face light up Haruka walked over to her phone when she asked. "Don't you have Keitaro-trackers you could use to find him?"

Su looked a bit sheepish and said "Yea but Naru wanted to use it a few hours ago but told her I had changed it into a tama-detector, 'cos I didn't want Naru and Motoko to ruin her first date and when I checked it before I came down here, he was out of range."

Haruka let out a little laugh as her phone began to ring before she got to it. "I'm sure Shinobu-chan will appreciate that." She picked up the receiver and said "Hello Hinata Tea Rooms."

¬Hello, Haruka-san? Its Shinobu.¬ The voice at the other end said.

"Oh, hey Shinobu-chan, what's up?" She looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it read 9:00 p.m. "It's getting pretty late you know, where are you and Keitaro?"

¬Um, that's what I'm calling about. You see, um we ran in to some trouble and um, we're at Tokyo hospital right now.¬ Came the hesitant reply.

"What? What happened? Are you and Keitaro alright?" she asked in quick succession.

Su, who had wandered over at the mention of her friends asked "What's going on? What's happened?" Haruka ignored the girl and waited for the response.

¬We're fine Haruka-san, Keitaro-kun has a minor concussion and a few bruised ribs and a few stitches but the doctor said that he would be able to leave by tomorrow morning.¬

"Oh, that's a relief, what about you do you need me to come pick you up?" she offered while trying to keep the phone out of Su's reach.

¬Um, no that's fine I'll stay here with Sempai.¬

"Is that so?" She asked in a tone of voice that was intended to embarrass the girl "Well if you're sure, I'll be by in the morning to pick you up and check on my nephew. What ward and room is he in?" After writing down the information she said "OK, Shinobu-chan, I'll see you tomorrow, tell Keitaro-kun I hope he's alright." Before she even put the phone down she was assaulted with questions from the hyperactive princess.

"What's going on? What happened? Why aren't you telling me? Please tell me! Pretty pleassssse!" Su beged.

"Alright, alright calm down and I'll tell you." She replied. "Shinobu tells me that they're both fine but Keitaro had to go to hospital."

"HOSPITAL! WHY WHATS WRONG WITH HIM!"

"Calm down or I won't tell you" Haruka bluffed. Seeing the girl restrain herself she continued "She didn't say what happened, only that they got into some trouble, and knowing my nephew that's very likely. He should be able to come home tomorrow morning." Seeing the worried look the girl had she added "You can come with me tomorrow to pick them up if you want."

Su thought about this for a moment and came up with much a better idea. "Can we go see them now?" she asked hopefully.

The older woman sighed and said "Su-chan, it would take over an hour to get there and we probably won't be able to see him that late, we might as well wait for morning.

Disappointed, but not willing to give up she unleashed her ultimate weapon. Her green eyes grew large and watery and her lower lip quivered as she pouted "Pleassssse Haruka-san" the princess whined "We'll be real quiet so no one even knows we're there."

Not even Haruka could stand up to this and relented. "Fine but if they don't let us in don't say I didn't warn you." _'Not that anyone could say no to her if she gives them that look.' _She thought to herself. _'She could probably take over the world with that look alone.'_

_

* * *

_

**An Hour Later at Tokyo Hospital**

As Haruka predicted, the journey in Seta's van that the archaeologist had left behind in her care, took about an hour and though there was some trouble with security, a quick pout from Su and the problem instantly disappeared.

Entering the injured mans room they saw the manager and chef of Hinata Sou both asleep in each other's arms and with matching smiles.

Haruka smiled slightly at the two and whispers to Su "They're asleep Su-chan I think we should come back tomorrow." When the expected pleading to stay never came from her young friend, she looked down at where she was expected to be, but the space was empty. Looking around to find out where the girl had gotten too she looked to her nephews bed and saw that Su has somehow managed to get in to bed with the pair and was already sleeping with her arms lightly hugging Keitaro around the waist without Haruka even noticing. _'I wish I knew how she did that.' _Haruka idly thought with a sigh. "And where am I meant to sleep?" She asked more to herself than the sleeping trio in front of her. Looking at the chairs beside his bed and the pillow and blankets on top of them "Some thanks for driving her over here, not even a good night and now I have to sleep in a chair." she muttered.

Finding herself in a comfortable position she gave her nephew one final look before going to sleep. _'Huh, been a long time since I've seen him give a genuine smile. Maybe Shinobu is having a greater influence than I thought.'_

_

* * *

_

**~The Next Morning~**

A drowsy Keitaro slowly awoke to the sleeping face of the domestic of Hinata Sou. Gently he reached up to stoke her cheek and thought _'She really does look cute like this.' _Feeling something shift behind him, he finally noticed Su sleeping contently behind him. "Huh? How did Su-chan get here?" he asked the room.

"I brought her here."

Had Keitaro not been weighted down by two young women holding him it was very likely he would have jumped right through the ceiling. Looking over to where the voice had come from her saw the stoic face of his aunt peering at him. "Haruka? What are you doing here?"

"Well when I find out my nephew's in hospital what do you expect me to do? Besides Su-chan begged me to bring her here last night." She explained. "So what actually happened, Shinobu-chan never told me." Haruka inquired. After a quick rundown of the date he explained how they were attacked and how he saved Shinobu. "I see, well aren't you becoming her knight in shining armour." she joked "But what about you? How are you feeling?"

"Me? I'm fine Haruka. You know me, nothing keeps me down for long." he grinned.

Stirred from her sleep by the conversation Shinobu slowly woke up and said "Good morning Keitaro-kun."

Keitaro looked away from his aunt to look at Shinobu "Good morning Shinobu-chan. How did you sleep?"

"Fine thanks. Are you feeling alright?" Her blush returning at full force when she realised that she slept in his arms again and in such a public place.

"I'm alright Shinobu-chan, nothing to worry about." He told her with a smile.

"hmmm is it breakfast time yet?" A dreary eyed Su asked as she sat up slightly, only to rest her head onto Keitaro's arm.

Shinobu let out a small yelp of surprise and asked "When did she get here?"

"I brought her here last night after you called." a voice said behind her back. Surprise caused the girl to jump in to Keitaro's arms as the voice chuckled. "Well, well I didn't realise you two had gotten so close to each other"

Realising who the voice belonged to; she turned and said "H-Haruka-san! I-It's not like that!"

"I know Shinobu-chan." She gave the girl who was still in her nephew's arms one of her rare smiles "So how did you sleep? You looked very comfortable there in Kei-kun's arms."

This produced the expected result of both of them blushing "H-Haruka-san! I-It's not like that!" Shinobu repeated.

Haruka laughed a little. "Don't worry, I know. Keitaro-kun just filled me in on what happened. Some first date huh?"

"...Yea" Shinobu said quietly. She felt an arm wrap around her waist and draw her closer to its owner.

"Shinobu-chan, I already told you that it wasn't your fault, so don't blame yourself OK?"

Before she can respond Su crawled on top of Keitaro and nuzzled into his chest while she mumbling "Shinobu how much longer until breakfast is ready?"

Keitaro's normal run of luck continued as this was the exact time his doctor and nurse from yesterday decided to pay him a visit bearing a tray of food for the patient. Seeing Keitaro with his arm around one girl, another one laying on his chest, and yet another one in the chair next to him the doctor developed a grin on her face that Keitaro is more used to seeing on Kitsune when she's up to no good, and said while laughing

"Well Urashima-san, if I had known what a ladies' man you are I would have arranged for a male nurse and doctor."

Keitaro's arms start to flail around as he stammered out denials, Shinobu's face turns bright red, Su sat up and stared at the tray of food drooling slightly, Haruka was as stoic as usual but grinned inside as she always did when her nephew got embarrassed, the nurse did a rather poor job of suppressing a fit of giggles that were threatening to escape and the doctor just continued laughing. Hoping to shift attention away from this line of conversation Keitaro quickly makes the introductions. "um this is my aunt Haruka Urashima and this is a good friend of ours Kaolla Su" he said while missing the glare from the elder woman for using _That _word.

"It's nice to meet you both." the doctor said with a large smile still plastered on her face. Haruka mealy nodded at her while Su's eyes never left the tray of food which seemed to hold a familiar yellow fruit. "So how are you feeling today Urashima-san?"

"Fine thanks, never felt better." he said as he accepted the tray food from the nurse while automatically passing the banana to Su. "So will I be able to home today?"

"Well that's what we're here to find out" she pulled out a pen light and checked his pupils' responsiveness. "So any pain at all?"

"No not really, just a slight headache and the back of my head itches like hell but apart from that I'm fine." he assured the doctor.

"mmmm well you seem fine, as for the headache that's to be expected seeing as you got hit with a metal pole yesterday. I would avoid using any aspirin or anything like that and let it fade naturally. If it doesn't and gets worse for no reason come back in for a check up as soon as possible. I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do about the itching and the bandages should stay on until you are ready to have stitches out."

"So I able to go home today right?"

"Yep, I can't find a reason to keep you here any longer. You know it's really amazing how fast you've recovered, I don't suppose you would agree to let us run some tests on you; you could help a lot of people if we find out how you heal so fast?"

Keitaro was about to agree, always ready to help others, when he saw the glint in the doctor's eyes, and he thought that it suspiciously resembles the look Su had in her eyes when she decided to find out why he could survive anything that was thrown at him. "Um sorry Sensei but I don't really like the idea of being tested on." _'At least anymore than usual.' _he added to himself giving Su a quick glance and when she looked up and grinned at him, he knew she was obviously thinking along the same lines as him.

The doctor sighed and said "It was worth a shot, not many people are willing to be experimented on. Anyway just make an appointment with your local doctor in about a week to have your stitches removed, also try to avoid hitting you head at least for a while if not entirely."

Keitaro gave her a weak laugh, thinking about the reception he will receive when he gets home and said "I can't promise anything Sensei but I will try."

"Good, here's my card if you ever change your mind about the tests just give me a call anytime. You're ready to leave at any time you just have to fill out some forms and then you can go. I hope we won't see you any time soon, unless of course you reconsider about the tests."

"OK thanks for everything Sensei."

Shinobu looked up at the nurse and said "Thank you again for letting me stay here last night." blushing as she remembered just what happened last night.

The nurse smiled at her and replied "No problem, it's clear that you really care about your boyfriend I couldn't in good conscience rip you away from him."

"um he's not my boyfriend just a friend." her blush intensifying both out of embarrassment and from thinking of Keitaro as her boyfriend.

"Really? From the way you two were snuggled up together last night I would have thought that you were newlyweds." His doctor put in, the Kitsune like grin returning.

"Sensei!" Keitaro moaned as Shinobu struggled to remain conscious.

"Ha Ha I'm gonna miss you two." The doctor said over her shoulder as she left with the nurse following close behind her.

When she was out of sight Keitaro mumbled "Let's go home before she decides to come back."

* * *

**An Hour Latter at the Bottom of Hinata Sou's Stone Staircase**

Haruka pulled up outside her teashop and parked Seta's van. The journey back to the dorm had been an uneventful one, mostly filled with Su interrogating Shinobu and Keitaro about their date which made the hour long trip seem a lot longer to the blushing pair.

Stepping out of the van Keitaro looked up at the dorm and started to shake when he saw the red aura surrounding his home. Knowing what, or rather who is giving off this aura he started to see the positives in going off an a dig with Seta, sure it was back breaking work for little pay, sure he'd have to put up with Sarah trying to crack his head open with a random artefact, sure he'd have to survive the archaeologist's driving, but at least he would have maybe a week or so until Naru and Motoko caught up to him.

Keitaro jumped slightly when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Turning around slowly he saw that the hand belonged to his aunt. Obviously knowing what was going through his mind Haruka said "Don't worry Kei, I won't let them lay a finger on you." the steely glint in her eye and the tone of voice made Keitaro wonder if he wouldn't be safer up there with Naru and Motoko than hanging around his aunt in her current mood.

"I'm sure everything will be alright, Keitaro-kun." Shinobu tried to reassure him even though she didn't really believe the words coming out of her mouth.

Keitaro just smiled weakly at her as he allowed Su to climb up on his back, when a though occurred to him "Um Shinobu-chan, I don't suppose you could go back to calling me Sempai, at least when we're around the other girls, I think I'm in enough trouble as it is."

The girl frowned slightly at the thought of having to go back to being formal with her love interest before seeing the sense in what he was saying. Sighing she said "Yes I suppose your right Sempai."

Keitaro put a hand on her shoulder and said "You only have to do it when Naru, Motoko or Kitsune are around."

"What about me? Do I have to start calling you 'Sempai'?" Su asked as she leaned over his head to look at him upside down.

Keitaro chuckled at her and said "No I think you can keep calling me Keitaro if you want."

"OK!" She cheered as she returned to her original position only to start to rub her cheek against his.

Haruka just looked at the three of them and shook her head. "OK you three let's get going."

The four of them started to ascend the stone staircase, and as they get closer to the top each could feel the angry red aura intensifying, and with each step Keitaro grew more and more nervous. Su could feel him stiffen in her embrace as they neared the top of the staircase and tightened her grip on him in hopes of calming him down a bit. This worked slightly as Keitaro started to worry more about his circulation that Su was cutting off than his welcome home.

Keitaro had barely reached the top step when the screaming started.

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE TO EVEN SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND HERE YOU LITTLE PERVERT!" Naru yelled as she came rushing out of the entrance, followed by an equally pissed off Motoko.

"URASHIMA! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO SHINOBU-CHAN!" She yelled as she raised her bokken above head as Naru pulled her fist back.

Before Keitaro could even think about getting Su to safety the girls were upon him. Motoko's practice sword started its downward arc as Naru's fist closed in on his face.

As Keitaro attempted to shield Su from the two attackers, Haruka acted.

Stepping in between Keitaro and the two girls, she effortlessly caught Naru's fist in her left hand and Motoko bokken in her right. Her eyes ablaze in anger, her own red aura easily dwarfing their combined one, she squeezed both hands hard enough to force Naru to her knees in pain and to shatter the wooden sword to little more than splinters.

Seeing the anger in the elder woman's eyes Motoko backed away from the furious aunt. _'I..I have never seen Haruka-san so angry before.'_ she thought to herself. _'I do not think even Aneue would risk going up against Haruka like this.'_

_'This has gone on long enough. I have to make up for been such a negligent aunt and I'm going to start right now!' _Noticing the anger had left the younger girls and had been replaced by fear, Haruka growled out through clenched teeth in a deathly whisper "Just what do you two think you were going to do to **My** nephew_?"_

"H-H-Haruka-san w-we w-were just going to p-punish him for w-what he did to S-Shinobu-chan" stuttered the normally unshakable samurai clearly terrified at this side of Haruka that she had never seen.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she said "And **What **exactly is he meant to have done to Shinobu-chan?"

"He- he was out all night with her, he must have molst-" Naru tried to get out before she was cut off.

"What the hell is wrong with you two? Why is it that whenever you think of Keitaro it always has to do with sex? _You_ have the gall to accuse _him_ of being a pervert when you two can only see him in sexual situations. It seems to me that your minds are far more perverted than his could ever be." Her voice dripping with venom.

"B-B-But he was out all night with her! W-What were they doing if they weren't... if they weren't..."

"Doing What!... See you don't even know what went on last night but you're ready to kill Keitaro. Didn't it ever occur to you that maybe you should ask what happened before you act?" Taking out and lighting one of her cigarettes she takes a deep breath to calm down before going on "If you two had actually asked what happened instead of instantly condemning an innocent man you would have found out that Keitaro had to spend the night in hospital."

"HOSPITAL!" Naru and Motoko both said in unison. They both rushed over to Shinobu, knocking Keitaro out of the way, and asked "Are you alright Shinobu-chan? What happened? Did _He _do something to you?"

"N-No I'm fine, Sempai was the one that got hurt." She replied slightly surprised at the quick change in temperament.

"Oh thank god you're alright Shinobu-chan." Naru said "Are you sure he didn't do anything perverted?"

"I-I'm sure."

"Well if you sure." turning back to Keitaro, Motoko said "Urashima, you have neglected you duties in your absence and the Hot Springs needs to be cleaned. I expect you to have done it by the time lunch is served."

As she walked off Naru started to follow her when she stops and points at the kindling that was Motoko's bokken and said "Don't forget to clean that up as well." She then stormed of back in to the dorm.

Above them they heard a cackling and as four sets of eyes look up they see Kitsune with a freshly opened bottle of sake in her hand, watching what had happened from the safety of her room. "Haruka-san you didn't have to be such a spoil sport, you ruined all the fun." she said before she disappeared from view still laughing.

Keitaro just stood there not saying or doing anything except clenching his fist. _'Do they really care so little about me? Haruka tells them that I was in hospital and not one of them asked if I was alright. I mean I can understand that check on Shinobu first, but when they found out that I was the one that got hurt they just shrug it off and tell me to start cleaning! I mean I have a bloody bandage wrapped around my head! Am I… am I just a cleaner to them? Hell I show more concern about Naru getting a paper cut! Aren't I their friend?'_

Keitaro felt someone rest a hand on his shoulder and Su give him a quick squeeze, both seeming to know what he was thinking.

"Don't worry about it Kei, that's just how they are." Haruka said with a bit of bitterness.

"I know" he sighs "but still, it hurts you know, that not even half the closest people to me care about the fact that I was injured."

Haruka raises an eyebrow at his math "I think you miscounted there Kei. There are three of us out here that care about you."

Keitaro laughs a bit and said "I know but you don't really count, you have to care about me because you're my aunnn very young and very attractive relative!" Keitaro quickly changed his mind about calling her aunt as he remembered the doctors warning about getting hit in the head.

Haruka, looking slightly amused by his attempt of getting out of being hit in the head with her fan, said "Don't worry Kei I'm not going to hit you." _'At least until your stitches come out.'_

Keitaro just laughed and said "Thanks Haruka, and thanks for protecting me and Su."

"Don't worry about it, in fact I should apologise to you."

"huh? Why? You haven't done anything."

"That's what I have to apologise for. I'm sorry for not stepping in before and putting a stop to Naru and Motoko." she explained looking slightly ashamed of herself.

"You don't have to apologise, most of the time it's my own fault, you know with my accidents and all."

"That's just what they are Keitaro-kun, accidents. You don't deserve to be put through a wall for something you didn't mean to do! Anyway I have to go open my teashop, try to stay out of trouble until you're in the clear OK Keitaro? I don't want to explain to that doctor why you're back after only an hour of being released."

The elder Urashima started to walk down the stairs when she felt a weight settle on her back. Looking to the side she saw that Su had launched herself from her nephews back and onto hers. She raises an eyebrow and asked "Yes Su-chan?"

Su responded to this by rubbing her cheek against Haruka's saying "Thank you for taking Su to see Keitaros last night and saving us just now."

Haruka smiled at the girl, gave her head a quick pat on the head and said "No problem Su-chan, now get going I've got things to do."

Su gave Haruka a big grin before launching herself back onto Keitaro, who received her with a grunt. "If you need anything you know where I'll be." Haruka said as she continued down the stairs.

Su gave Keitaro a big squeeze and a kiss on the cheek and said "Thank you for looking after Shinobu." Before rushing off to do things that we are a lot safer knowing nothing about.

Keitaro smiled at her departing form before sighing "Well I guess I had better clean the hot spring." he said unenthusiastically.

"Would you like me to help you?" Shinobu offered seeing that he was looking a bit worn out.

Keitaro looked at Shinobu, and as much as he would appreciate the help he didn't feel right about increasing a work load that she volunteered to take off his shoulders by doing the laundry and cooking. "No thank you Shinobu-chan you don't have to do that, but I don't suppose you could try and keep everyone away from the hot springs while I'm cleaning it?"

"Of course Keitaro-kun" she said with a small blush "See you at lunch?"

"Don't know, I think I'm gonna have a lay-down once I finish the spring, if I'm not down at lunch do you think that you could bring me up something to eat?"

"OK." She answered with a smile as she walked to get changed out of the dress that she had been wearing since yesterday.

Keitaro watched her walk away thinking what a wonderful girl she was, always willing to help. Shaking his head he thought _'Oh well the sooner I finish cleaning the springs the sooner I can lay down.'_

_

* * *

_

**~An Hour Later Outside Managers Room~**

_'Whew! That took a lot longer than it usually does. I guess_ _I_ _should_ _take it easy for a while._' He thought as he rubbed his sore head. _'And I don't think standing out in the springs did my head any good.'_

As he entered his room he moved to prepare his futon so he can have a quick nap, when two arms wrapped around his shoulders and a voice cooed "Keeeei-kun, ya know just because a girl's in your room doesn't mean that she's going to jump into your futon with you." The voice laughed. "Unless you ask nicely, that is."

Keitaro groaned inwardly. He knew that voice and that it usually earns him a free flight to the centre of Tokyo. "What can I do for you Kitsune?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

"ooooooooow what's wrong Kei-kun? Don't you like me anymore? Maybe it's because you got little Shinobu-chan now you don't need me, hmmmm?" Even though she was still behind him he could hear the pout in her voice.

"No, it's just that I'm a bit tired, and got a bit of a headache, so I'd appreciate it if I could just get some rest..." he hinted.

"Awwwww is my poor Kei-kun is hurting? You want your Big Sister to kiss it all better?" she said giggling.

"Kitsune please, just not now OK." he tried to reason with her to little avail.

"Now, now Kei-kun don't worry I'll make sure you feel a lot better." she purred into his ear.

"DAMN IT KITSUNE IS SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" he yelled at her as he pulled away from her embrace.

Kitsune's eyes shot open and her jaw dropped. She had never heard Keitaro yell in anger. In fear, yes, in surprise, yes, but never in anger.

"Wha.. wha... what are you yelling at me for! Jeezs I was just having a little fun, what's got your panties in a twist?"

"You want to know why I'm yelling? Fine I'll tell you. First of all two days ago, all I did was walk up the stairs with Shinobu-chan and I nearly get my head taken off, we didn't even get a chance to say anything before Naru tries to deck me. Secondly when Shinobu-chan asked to sleep in the same room with me because she's scared and I let her, not so I can rape or peek at her while she's asleep but because I'm her friend, Naru finds out and tries to kill me and if I hadn't jumped over her Shinobu-chan was likely to get seriously hurt just because Naru can't stop for one second to ask a question, then _You _decide to blurt it out over breakfast that Shinobu-chan spent the night with me, knowing full well what Motoko was going to do. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to get blasted through a wall and then land on concrete from very high up? Not only that but then I had to put up with Motoko berating me for not doing my work when she blasted me out of the building and then more or less call me a potential rapist. You have no idea what it's like to hear someone you care about say that to you! And about Shinobu-chan no less! Do you lot really think that the first chance I get I'm going to try to have my way with her?" he glared at the fox eyed woman.

"Oh and then when I got back this morning what am I greeted with is Naru and Motoko trying to kill me, completely ignoring the fact that I have a bandaged up head, and if it wasn't for Haruka I would have been back in hospital less than two hours after I was released. What's worse is that Su-chan was still on my back when it happened so she would have been really hurt, and she can't bounce back from things as easily as me. But you know what really upset me? It wasn't the fact that they asked Shinobu if she was alright before they asked about me, but when they found out that I was the one that got hurt, an injury that I got from protecting Shinobu-chan, you know what they did? They didn't even ask if I was alright! They just told me to clean the hot spring! Like it was my fault that I ended up in hospital! And not even an apology when they were proven wrong. And this was in the space of two days!" he exclaimed.

"I've had put up with a lot of crap from you too! Like when I first got here you put my hand on your breast and when Naru walked in you acted like the poor victim being molested by the 'evil' new manager. Not to mention the times you told me the hot springs are empty when there not or taking down my sign when I'm cleaning or putting me in situations where I'm going to get beaten! And now's no different! If I hadn't yelled at you Naru or Motoko would have walked past, saw us and accuse me of doing something perverted. So Kitsune that's what 'Got my panties in a twist' as you put it. I'm about to be launched through a wall again and I really can't deal with that right now!" As Keitaro finished his rant he leaned against a wall and slowly slid down to the floor and covered his face with his hands.

Kitsune just stared at him, eyes wide open and mouth agape. "K-Kei.. I..I.." She struggles to get out.

Keitaro took a deep breath and let out a sigh "Look Kitsune, I'm sorry for yelling like that at you. I'm not having the best day, I'm really tired and I got a splitting headache so can you just leave me alone for a while please?"

"Yea.. yea... sorry" is all Kitsune could say as she walked out the room. As she slid the door shut Keitaro let out a frustrated groan.

_'Why did I yell at her like that! She didn't deserve that, I shouldn't have gone off on one like that.' _He rubbed his throbbing head trying to alleviate some of the pain.

_'Well crying about it isn't going to make it up to her, I'll have to go apologise.' _He thought before a sharp pain shot through his head _'Ugh maybe after I get some rest' _he then finished setting up his futon. Barely a moment after he got into it he fell off to sleep.

* * *

**~Lunch Time in the Dining Room~**

In the dining room we find four girls sitting at the table each with different moods. Su was happily bouncing in her chair, a knife and fork in her hands, eagerly awaiting the arrival of food. Motoko was confused about the events of the past few days and was sitting in silent contemplation. Kitsune was staring into her cup of tea, not being in any mood to drink sake while Naru sat there stewing in annoyance.

"Where the hell is that idiot?" Naru muttered "Doesn't he know it's rude to keep us waiting?"

"Sempai asked me to bring lunch as he was feeling tired." Shinobu explained as she brought the final dish out. As she began to prepare a plate for Keitaro, Su cried "I'll help too!"

With that she grabbed a couple of the dishes that Shinobu had already laid on the table as well as Shinobu's arm. As she pulled Shinobu out of sight upstairs to Keitaro's room Naru frowned.

"I suppose I better go with them to make sure that, that pervert doesn't try anything on them." She said as she began to stand up a voice said.

"Leave them alone Naru, Keitaro wouldn't do anything to hurt hem and you know that."

Naru turned around to see her best friend playing with the food on her plate. "Are you drunk Kitsune? You know what he's like!"

Kitsune sighed at her friend. "Yes Naru I do know what he is like, and no I'm not drunk, as you can see I am drinking tea instead of sake."

"Motoko you agree with me right? We can't trust him alone with them!" she asked looking for support.

Motoko thought for a moment before saying "I believe we should show a little trust this time."

"What! Are you willing to risk Shinobu-chan's and Su-chan's life on it?"

"If he harms either of them I will allow him to live just long enough to regret doing so but I believe that we should see if he has finally changed his perverted ways."

"Fine but if he does do something you'll have to beat me to him." Naru huffed, recognising a losing battle.

"Like you really need an excuse." Kitsune mumbled as she stared at her food.

"Huh? Did you say something Kitsune?" Naru asked.

"No." She replied "I'm not too hungry right now so I'm gonna have a quick dip in the hot springs. I catch you later."

"What's up with her?" Naru wondered.

Motoko just shrugged and continued on with her meal.

* * *

**~Managers Room~**

While this conversation was happening Su had dragged Shinobu up to Keitaro's room. Rather than rushing through the door as she normally would, she gently slid the door open and both the girls peered inside to see Keitaro still asleep in his futon.

Su walked up to him and gently shook him away by singing out "Keirarooo, wake up! It's lunch time!"

"Huh? Su-chan? What are you doing in my room?"

"Silly Keitaros." Su giggled "It's lunch time! And Me 'N Shinobu brought it for you!"

Keitaro looked past her to see Shinobu setting down the dishes which Su had brought onto his small table.

"Thanks Su-chan, Shinobu-chan." Seeing how much food the two had brought for him, he said. "Um I don't think I'll be able to eat all of that."

"That's OK me and Shinobu will eat with you so you don't gets lonely." Su explained as she helped him get up and over to the table.

With Keitaro sitting cross-legged at his table and Shinobu sitting at his right, Su decided to sit in his lap, causing both of her friends to blush.

"er Su-chan what are you doing?" Keitaro questioned the girl.

Tilting her head back to look at him in the eye and she simply said "Feed me."

"WHAT!" cried both of her companions.

"Feed Me." Su repeated.

"um Ok?" He replied, confused by the girls actions. Picking up a set of chopsticks he selected a piece of food and lifted it up to her mouth. When it was in range she opened her mouth and quickly took what was presented to her.

"MMMMM! This tastes really good! Here you try!" Su cheered. She grabbed another pair of chopsticks, selected some food and held it up for Keitaro. Smiling, he gratefully accepted the offering.

"mmmm, you're right Su-chan it does taste good."

"See I told ya it taste good when someone feeds it to ya." Su said, smiling smugly.

Still smiling, Keitaro selected another morsel of food but this time held it out for Shinobu. "Would you like some Shinobu-chan?"

Blushing, she timidly accepted it. "Thank you."

After she finished, she selected her own pair of chopsticks and held the food out for Keitaro.

He leaned in to eat it but before he could, Su leaped forward and grabbed it for herself.

"Suuuu-chan that was for Keitaro-kun!" Shinobu cried out.

"Oh, OK! Here you go Keitaro!" She yelled as she stuffed some in his mouth, causing him to choke. Su sat there laughing at the face Keitaro was making while Shinobu ran around trying to find something for Keitaro to drink, to clear his throat.

* * *

**~An Hour Later, Managers Room~**

After the three had finished the meal, Keitaro found himself staring out of his window. While Su had wanted to stay and play with Keitaro, he was relieved when Shinobu had insisted that Keitaro needed his rest. Pouting, Su waved goodbye to him and promised to come back to keep him company after he had rested. He felt much better when Shinobu told him that she would try to keep her distracted long enough to let him get some peace.

After failing to get back to sleep, Keitaro decided to try to get some studying but with his headache still annoying him, he gave up and took to admiring the view out of his window thinking about recent events. At the forefront was his encounter with Kitsune earlier. Sighing, he thought to himself _'I can't believe how I snapped at her. How the hell am I going to make it up to her?'_

-Knock- -Knock-

His musings were cut short by a knock at the door.

"Come in." Keitaro said assuming that Su had managed to get away from Shinobu. He started to worry when he noticed that instead of the tanned princess, in walked the woman that he was thinking about.

"er hi Kitsune um what can I do for you?" he asked still not sure how to talk to a woman that he had just yelled at an hour ago.

"Hi Keitaro-san, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" Kitsune asked.

"Ye-yeah sure what do you want to talk about?" he stuttered.

"About what happened earlier today." She said, her eyes not meeting his.

"Oh I see…" he answered looking away from her. "Look Kitsune I – Kitsune?"

Looking back at her he saw that she has her head bowed low. "Keitaro-san, I came here in the hopes that you could find a way to forgive me for what I've done to you in the past."

Keitaro sat there for a moment before he said "Kitsune you don't have to, I'm the one who should be - "

"Keitaro-san can I please say what I have to say before you say anything?" she asked quietly.

"O-ok sure" he stuttered.

Taking a deep breath she began. "Since this morning when we had that... discussion, I've been thinking about what you said and you were right. Since you've been here I've done nothing but torment you for my own amusement. Looking back at the things that you've gone through I can't for the life of me figure out how I could possibly have found it funny. I've set you up, teased you, gotten you in trouble with the other girls, hell you weren't even here five minutes and I accused you of groping me. I've stolen, blackmailed, tricked and seduced you out money that you worked hard for, when I just hang around here all day drinking, just because you were an easy target." When she paused to take something out of her pocket Keitaro can see tears streaming down her face. Holding out her hand to her manager, he could see that there is a wad of cash in it.

"This- this is some money that I've saved up." She explained around her sobs. "I know it's not much and nowhere near the amount I have taken from you, nor will it make up for what I've done, but I want you to have it. I have asked Haruka-san for a job down at her tea house so that I can pay you back for every yen that I have taken and I promise that I will never behave like I have been again, so please take this along with my deepest apologies." she bowd again with her hand still out stretched and tears still flowing.

Keitaro looked at her with wide eyes before reaching out and curing her fingers back so that she had her fist around the money. "Kitsune I can't accept this."

The woman flinched before saying "I understand, I wouldn't forgive me either."

"No that's not what I meant, of course I forgive you. I can't accept the money."

"But why, it's yours and you deserve it." She sobbed.

Keitaro picked up a tissue and made his way over to the crying woman. Cupping her chin in his hand he lifted her head and began to wipe away the tears. "Because your apologies all I want I don't need the money and besides I should be the one to apologise, I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I deserved it and much more." She sniffed "I'm really sorry Keitaro-san, I don't know why I never thought about how you were feeling but I promise that I won't tease you or ask you for money ever again."

Keitaro slipped an arm around her waist and said "Kitsune I don't mind lending you money every now and again but you don't have to try and trick me to do you just have to ask, and you don't have to stop teasing me but can you just do it when it's just us and not around Naru and Motoko?"

She looked up at his smiling face and asked "R-really?"

"Of course. This place wouldn't feel right without you teasing me." He joked.

Kitsune looked up into his eyes until her own began to mist over. She buried her head into his chest as a fresh wave of tears hit her. Keitaro wrapped his arms around her and gently stroked her hair until she calmed down. After a few minutes, she eventually stopped crying and felt him lift her face up again to wipe off the tears. "Feel any better?"

"Yea a little bit." She said giving him a small smile. "Thanks for letting me cry on you for a bit."

"No problem. You sure you're alright."

"Yea, just a bit emotional, but please take this." She asked holding out the cash again.

"Keep it. Besides the rent is due at the end of the week." He said with a gentle smile.

Looking up at his smile Kitsune found herself blushing and unable to look him in the eyes. "Thanks Kei-kun"

"Anytime Kitsune." He replied which got him a kiss on the cheek and another hug. This touching moment between the two was interrupted when the board covering the hole in his ceiling was removed and Naru called out "Hey Keitaro-san did you do something to upset Kitsune she was acting weird this morning?" as she poked her head down she saw the pair with their arms around each over and with Kitsune more or less sitting on his lap.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER YOU PERVERT?" she yelled as she dropped down from the ceiling with her arm drawn back. As she threw the punch Keitaro realised that once again if he didn't do something then Naru was going to hit someone other than him. At the last possible moment he dived forward dragging Kitsune with him. Missing her target Naru sailed past the pair and tripped over Keitaro's outstretched leg to send her flying into the wall near the door.

Meanwhile Keitaro had ended up on top of Kitsune with their faces just centimetres apart. Placing his arms on either side of her he lifted himself up slightly so that she wasn't supporting his weight. "Are you alright Kitsune?" he asked in a worried voice.

Kitsune looked up and blushed at his close proximity and replied "Yea I am, thanks." Still a little in shock by what had happened.

"Ow my head!" the two looked over to see Naru was sitting against the wall rubbing a large bump on her head.

Keitaro frowned and made his way over to Naru "What do you think you're doing Naru? You could have hurt Kitsune! Don't you ever think before you do something?"

"Wha- what about you? You were just molesting her!" She countered.

"I was not! But what you did could have put Kitsune in hospital! This is the third you've done something like this! What isn't Shinobu-chan and Su-chan enough, now you're trying to hurt Kitsune as well?"

Naru was struggling to put together a coherent sentence, the reality that she could have hospitalised her best friend coupled with her bump made it difficult for her to do more than stutter. Turning to her friend for support, all she got was a hurt look. This look coupled with the glare she was getting from Keitaro was too much for and so she flung open the door and ran back to the safety of her room. Shaking his head Keitaro closed the door and went back to Kitsune. "You sure you're all right?" he asked as he helped her to sit up.

"Yeah I'm sure." She said in a shaky voice. _'Is that what he has to deal with everyday? I damn well nearly pissed!' _She noticed something that seemed strange to her. "Hey Kei how did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know, dodge. Normally you would have been sent flying." _'And so would I if you didn't pull me out of the way.'_

"Oh, don't really know, I guess I was more focused on getting you out the way than anything else." He explained.

With a slight blush, she shuffled over to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him another small kiss on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. "Thanks Kei-kun" she murmured as he began to lightly stroke her hair.

After a few moments Kitsune noticed that something wasn't quite right so she assessed her situation. She was currently sitting in Keitaro's lap, arms wrapped around him, resting her head on his shoulder while he was ran his fingers through her hair, her breasts were pushed against him and Keitaro wasn't freaking out nor has a single drop of blood fallen from his nose.

"Hey Kei-kun is everything alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Why?" he replied slightly confused.

"Well I'm sitting on your lap with by boobs rubbing against you, breathing into your ear, and not so much as a nosebleed. I can only think of one thing that could have happened to dull you to this extent." The sly look once again returning to her eyes. "Soooo tell me what you and Shinobu-chan really got up to last night."

"N-n-nothing happened!" Keitaro stuttered, returning to his default personality.

Kitsune just giggled as his arms started to flail around. "I'm just kidding Kei-kun, but really how was your date, and how did this happen?" She asked, lightly tapping his bandaged head.

"oh right well…" Keitaro proceeded to summarise the events of the date, skipping over the main bits and getting to the part where he and Shinobu were attacked. "… we went to the hospital where the doctor said that I would be able to leave the next day, and rather than sending Shinobu-chan home by herself she stayed at the hospital with me."

Kitsune just stared at him with her mouth hanging open. As his story concluded she felt a bubble of guilt rise up. Resting her head on his shoulder again she murmured "Sorry Kei-kun"

"What for?" he asked, having trouble keeping up with her mood swings.

"For being such a bitch to you, all last night I was winding those two up, saying stuff like you took her to a love hotel, you know that type of thing, when you were laid up in hospital because you saved Shinobu-chan from god knows what those thugs would have done to her. And then when you get home to not even ask if you were alright even though you've got a bandage wrapped around your head. I honestly don't know why you even bother to put up with us after everything we've done to you." She told him, her voice coated in sadness and regret.

"Don't worry about, trust me its fine." He reassured the woman in her arms by giving her a quick squeeze.

"Thanks Kei-kun" she said with a small smile "How's your head does it still hurt?"

"Yeah a bit, mostly just a headache and itching from the bandages, I'm also still a bit tired from cleaning the hot springs before lunch."

"Hmmm well I suppose I'll let you get some rest now, but if you need anything just let me know ok?" Standing, she bent over at the waist giving him a perfect view of her cleavage "And I mean _anything._" She purred.

She giggled and gave him a small kiss on the nose as his eyes widened and arms flailed about. "See ya later Kei-kun."

As she closed the door behind her she leaned her back against the wall with a smile and blush on her face _'He really is a great guy. And from the way he yelled at Naru he might be giving up on her. And if he's giving up on her that means he might be in the market for someone else.'_ Her smile turned into a large grin. _'This defiantly needs some consideration.' _She thought as she walked away.

From the shadows, a tall woman detached herself wearing a troubled expression. Unbeknownst to Kitsune, Motoko had seen the girl enter Keitaros room and had listened in on their conversation. What she had heard had disturbed her greatly. _'How many times was he innocent? How many times was he set up? How many times did he tell us it was an accident and we struck him regardless?'_ Retreating back to her room, she locked herself in and attempted to calm herself. _'Looking back at everything that he's been involved in, it can almost all be explained through Kitsunes meddling or just plain bad timing.'_ The true reality of what was had been happening was becoming apparent to the young samurai. _'Have I been striking an innocent all this time? Have I really been so blind as to not see what was right before my eyes?'_ Her hands started to shake. _'I…I need to speak to someone about what I should do.' _She thought as she wiped away the tears threatening to spill. Making her way to the door she resolved to call the one person who could help her.

* * *

**~Dinner Time in the Dining Room ~**

"Who's Motoko-chan talking to on the phone?" Keitaro asked as he sat down. Walking past her on his way to the dining room he noticed that she was paler than she normally was and she had a troubled look on her face.

"No idea, but she's been on for a while." Kitsune answered. As Shinobu brought in the last plate Motoko walked in and silently took her place at the table.

"Are you alright Motoko-chan?" Naru asked with concern.

"Y-yes I am fine, thank you Naru-sempai ." after receiving a plate from Shinobu she continued "I-I was just talking to my sister and she has asked me to return to Kyoto."

"Is everything alright?" Naru asked.

"Yes there is just some family business that she wishes to discuss with me, so I will be leaving after dinner." turning to Su "I am afraid you will have to find someone else to sleep with for a few days."

"Well don't look at me" Kitsune said immediately "I've got a bachelorette party to go to tonight and I probably won't be back till tomorrow." Giving Keitaro a wide grin she said "You know Kei-kun, if you want to earn a bit of cash we could use a bit of …_entertainment_." Her grin widening as he choked on some food.

Naru just scoffed "As if anyone would want to see _him_ naked?"

"I don't know about that Naru-chan, I can think of one or two people who wouldn't mind." Giving Shinobu a sly wink. "Anyway it looks like you'll have to sleep with Naru-chan."

"Sorry me neither, my sister Mei asked me for some help with some homework, so it'll be easier to just to stay round there tonight."

"No problem, I'm going back to Molmol tonight."

"Why?" Naru asked.

"coz its dads 50th birthday." Su stated around a mouthful of food.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Keitaro asked _'What's up with these girls? They're all leaving and not a one of them said anything about it until 5 minutes before they leave'_

"coz no one asked." She replied.

Keitaro just shook his head, not bothering to try to decipher the girls thought process.

Kitsune had a though "Hey doesn't this mean that Kei-kun and Shinobu-chan will be …"

"… All by themselves tonight" Naru finished as all eyes fell on the pair.

* * *

OK another chapter finally done. Sorry it took so long but due to various reasons like I just finished my first year of uni so I had a lot of coursework and exams to do, the fact that this is the longest chapter so far (longer than both previous chapter together) another reason is that I'm not that happy with the first part of this chapter i.e. up until the hospital. The pace felt rushed and the dialogue was crap and the bit in the park with the thugs was terrible, clichéd dialogue and little to no description, but I hope I made up for it with the rest of it. I think reason for that is that I wanted to get to the scene with Kitsune so the first part didn't turn out so well. Anyway this fic is nearly over just one more chap and maybe a special extra chapter and it will be more a romance fic than an angst fic and I think iv found a way to work Kanako into the fic. I'm planning on posting a couple of other fics iv got ideas for so please have a look at them and tell me what you think when I put them up.

Other things:  
1) The sum total of my medical knowledge comes from watching House MD and Scrubs so for all I know giving someone who has a concussion a sedative makes their head explode but I needed kei to get doped up.

2) From what I understand, in Japan doctors are referred to as 'Sensei' rather than doctor so that's why Keitaro said Sensei instead of 'Doc' or anything similar.

Reviews:

To : **Ocrun**, iloveanime2008, **Lucas B.,** One Warrior 86, **Mike Kromer**, smoffer1, **Mike**, KiAnson, **Midrom**, Ashurii Shirosaki, **Starfire99**, pak40, **GroveWolf** , smoffer1, **Kingswriter**, thanks for you kind words, I hope you liked this chapter and that it wasn't to much of a disappointment.

Hyrulian Hero Akai- thanks for the reviews, I know what you're saying about the dialogue and this chapter is probably worse so sorry about that, the comment about Shinobu and the kitten was just meant to show how powerless she was to stop what was happening, as for Shinobu being dependent on kei I had originally planned to go that way with a scene of her at school having a break down as how su found out but I didn't feel I could create a story like that.

Cheshire Cat5- thanks for the kind words and hope you enjoyed this chap despite the crappy dialogue.

Last but not least Dragice Ryudo- thanks for the incredibly detailed review so lets get started:

Ok Su's speech personally I think that for the most part she's just putting on an act. The fact that she's a genius, a princess, and had to marry her brother/cousin when she grows up would put a hell of a lot of pressure for anyone so she just acts childish because she doesn't want to grow up.

We seem to be on the same wavelength regarding the extra words as you got the right reason, as I'm writing I come up with something and type it before I forget even if it doesn't really sound right or the sentence goes on to long.

As for the improvements you suggested I think I've gone back and acted on them and I hope that the previous chapters read better.

Anyway I haven't started the next chapter yet as I want to get the first chapters done on the other fics first but I'll get on to it ASAP

Thanks in advance for any reviews/ comments


	4. Chapter 4

**Sempai, My Saviour**

**

* * *

Important Note Please Read:**

I have updated the previous chapters so they flow better and have removed a lot of the mistakes so please read them before reading this chapter.

* * *

**Last ****T****ime on Sempai, My Saviour**

_"No problem, I'm going back to Molmol tonight."_

_"Why?" Naru asked._

_"coz its dads 50th birthday." Su stated around a mouthful of food._

_"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Keitaro asked __'What's up with these girls? They're all leaving and not a one of them said anything about it until 5 minutes before they leave'_

_"coz no one asked." She replied._

_Keitaro just shook his head, not bothering to try to decipher the girls thought process._

_Kitsune had a though "Hey doesn't this mean that Kei-kun and Shinobu-chan will be …"_

_"… All by themselves tonight" Naru finished as all eyes fell on the pair._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 4**

As the sun fell behind the old inn Shinobu and Keitaro stood outside Hinata-Sou to see their friends off. As the girls left the building they said goodbye to the ones they were leaving behind. Motoko stepped forward first. "Urashima-san, we shall leave Shinobu-chan in your care, please look after her for us." She bowed. Keitaro blinked in surprise at the polite formalness Motoko displayed. Normally she never used an honorific let alone bowed to him.

"Of course I will." He answered, not entirely sure what was going on. He was even more confused as she gave him a small smile and faintly said "I know." before walking down the stone staircase. Su bounced up to them next and hugged Keitaro. "Make sure Shinobu is OK, OK?"

Keitaro smiled and returned her hug. "OK. Are you sure you don't want us to come with you to the airport?"

"Its fine, I'm a big girl now and can take care of myself." She grinned playfully at him.

Keitaro laughed and ruffled her short blond hair. "I know, but be careful OK? And call us when you get back so we can come pick you up." Grinning Su left his embrace and hugged her blue haired friend.

"Make sure you look after our Keitaro, OK? You know how much trouble he causes."

Shinobu smiled and returned her hug. "I will." Su smiled and waved good bye before running after Motoko.

Naru's turn was next. "You better not do anything to her." She growled at him.

Keitaro let out a sigh and was about to agree in order to placate her but Kitsune intervened. "He won't do anything to her Naru-chan and you know it. Besides Haruka-san is just downstairs to save her is he does something she doesn't like."

"Just so long as he knows what will happen to him if touches her." She huffed before storming off down the stairs.

"Don't worry about her; she's just being her usual stubborn self." Kitsune said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "You show our Shinobu-chan a good time, you hear?"

Smiling he rested his hands on the small of her back and hugged her tightly. "No problem." He whispered. "Don't drink too much OK?"

"Well, we could still use some entertainment if you want to come keep an eye on me." She offered.

"That's OK I trust you." He lent down and kissed her cheek "Besides I've got to look after Shinobu-chan."

"She can come along too. I'm sure she wouldn't mine watching you perform." She purred as he blushed.

Turning to Shinobu who was giving them a curious look, Kitsune brought the bluenette to her ample breasts. "You have fun tonight, alright? Don't you do anything I wouldn't do if I were all alone with Kei-kun with no one to disturb or interrupt us." She gave the blushing girl a meaningful look. "After all, who knows when an opportunity like this will come around again?" She pressed the point.

"O-OK" she smiled and blushed a deeper red as comprehension bloomed.

"Good girl, I want to hear all about it tomorrow alright?" she leered and kissed her forehead before sauntering off. Still blushing at the thought of being along with her love interest, Shinobu jumped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Looking up she saw the smiling face of her sempai.

"You OK Shinobu-chan?" he asked.

"Y-yes, Kei-kun. I'm fine." her blush increasing as she used the informal term of address. "I was just thinking that this is the first time that we've spent the night alone together."

Keitaro looked down at his young charge with concern. "If you don't feel comfortable being alone with me we can hang out with Aunty and stay down there tonight."

"N-No It's Fine!" She reassured him, waving her hands in front of her. "It's just that I've used to having everyone here with us. It's the first time in a while that I've spent the night with just one other person."

Keitaro smiled at her and gently petted her head. "If you're sure Shinobu-chan. So what do you want to do now?"

"Well I have some homework that I could use some help with, i-if you can spare the time." She asked bashfully.

"Of course I'll help you Shinobu-chan. You know you just have to ask and I'll be more than happy to help you." He held out his hand for her with a soft smile. "Shall we?" blushing brightly Shinobu gently took a hold of his hand and for the first time noticed the texture. His fingers were callused, a testament to the amount of work he did to keep the Hinata in a liveable condition for Shinobu and the other residents while the rest was so soft that she gently stroked his hand with her thumb. Keitaro was doing the same as the young girl. He marvelled at how small her hand was and how warm and smooth her hand was despite all the cooking and cleaning she voluntarily did. Enjoying the feeling of her soft skin, he rubbed her hand with his thumb.

When they realised what they were doing they both blushed deeply but neither let go of the other. "T-Thank you Kei-kun." Shinobu stuttered with a smile.

* * *

**Shinobu's room**

"...and that's how you do that one." Keitaro smiled. "Try this one now OK?"

"OK Kei-kun." She returned his smile as she looked down at the notebook. As Shinobu puzzled over the equation Keitaro smiled fondly at the young woman sitting next to him. They were sitting side by side at the small table in the centre of Shinobu's room, the girl sat closer to her tutor than she ever would have dared to a few days ago. Seeing the look of concentration on her face Keitaro couldn't help but think about how cute she looked.

Realising what he was doing Keitaro shook her head and peered around the room. Seeing the stuffed animal that he had won for her, taking pride of place amongst her other toys he reached out and he grabbed a hold of it, smiling at the strange frog like creature. "I can't believe you still have this." He said to her.

Looking up from her textbook Shinobu blushed. "O-of course I do. You won it for me." She said shyly.

Keitaro let out a laugh "I remember. I was aiming for a cat but ended up winning you this strange thing."

Shinobu smiled at the memory. Back at the beach when Naru was mad at Keitaro for some reason or another, they ended up spending most of evening together until she gave up her chance for Naru. But today was different. Today they were all alone and she wouldn't be running off to find Naru tonight. Finishing the equation she showed it to Keitaro. "I think this is right Kei-kun." She still blushed when using that term of address.

Putting the toy back where it came from, he looked at the book and smiled. "Yep, you got it right. You've really gotten a lot better at this."

Blushing at his praise, she murmured. "It's thanks to your help."

"Not at all Shinobu-chan, it was all due to your hard work. Besides you were smart to begin with, you just needed a little encouragement." Shinobu blushed happily. Stretching his arms above his head he asked "Is that all your homework done?"

"Yes Kei-kun. Thank you for all your help." She gave him a small smile.

Looking out her window he saw that the sun had finished its journey and the moon was out. "Wow, it's gotten quite late hasn't it? What do you want to do now?"

"I-I was thinking about going to the springs for a bath. Um, would you..." she said blushing.

"Don't worry Shinobu-chan; I'll keep well away from the springs until you're done." He smiled.

"N-No! T-That's not what I meant!" she cried, waving her hands in front of her. "I-I meant do you want to take a bath with me?" As soon as they both realised what she said they turned a bright red and started to flail their arms around and babble incoherently. Calming down he said. "A-are you sure you want to bathe with me?"

"Y-Yes." She stuttered. "I-I mean I've never really been in the hot springs by myself and you work so hard to keep it clean for us but never get to use it yourself so I thought that you might want to use it for once." She trailed off and looked at her hands in her lap.

"Er, if you're sure you're alright with me bathing with you I'd be happy to join you." He said nervously.

"T-Thank you." she blushed.

Gathering their bathing supplies they walked close to each other until they got to the changing room. "Um, after you Shinobu-chan. Just call me once you're done changing." Keitaro said.

Nodding her head, Shinobu slipped into the changing room leaving Keitaro to his thoughts. _'OK this is fine. Shinobu-chan invited me to join her, there's nothing wrong with this. It won't be like all the other times. I'm sure she just doesn't want to be alone. Nothing bad is going to happen.'_ He tried to calm himself but past experience with this hot spring as well with this girl had left him with a lot to be nervous about.

"Y-you can come in now Keitaro-kun." Came Shinobu's quiet voice.

"T-Thanks." He replied and waited until he head the outer door open and shut. Entering the changing room Keitaro started to undress when he noticed Shinobu's clothes in a basket. _'Oh that's right. Shinobu-chan will be naked.' _That thought stopped him in his tracks. He hadn't considered that. _'Even if she's in a towel she'll be... No!'_ he mentally and physically slapped himself. _'Idiot! What are you thinking! This is the reason why Naru-chan and Motoko-chan call you a pervert! Everything will be fine just as long as you don't think about anything perverted. It's just you and Shinobu-chan so you don't have to worry about anyone barging in and sending you flying.'_ Finishing getting undressed he wrapped a towel tightly around himself and came up with an idea. Grabbing another towel he moved to entrance of the hot spring. Before opening the door he wrapped the spare around his eyes. Groping around for the door he pulled it open and stumbled into the springs.

"S-Shinobu-chan?" he called out.

"O-Over here Keitaro-kun." Came her soft voice. Following the sound, he carefully felt around with his feet to avoid falling over or into anything. "Um, Keitaro-kun? Why have you got a towel around your eyes?"

"Er, well I don't exactly have a good track record in this spring so I thought it might be better to be safe than sorry." He laughed.

"But you fall over when you can see let alone on this wet floor blindfolded." Shinobu countered.

"I know but..." he trailed off when he heard a splash and wet footsteps approach him.

"I-It's fine Kei-kun." She murmured "I trust you." with that she reached up around his neck and untied the towel around his eyes. As the cloth fell from his face he was greeted with her beautiful blue eyes gently reflecting the moonlight, her pale skin seemed to glow in the dimly lit springs and her short wet hair clung to the sides of her face. As he stared into her soulful eyes his mouth went dry. "S-Shinobu-chan..."

With her arms resting on his shoulders Shinobu blushed and looked away. "S-shall we get into the springs?"

"S-sure Shinobu-chan." He murmured. Removing her hands, Shinobu led the way to the pool. As they went, Keitaro's eyes were drawn to Shinobu's soft curves; her damp towel down hugged her slim frame. As his eyes travelled lower to her slender legs he realised what he was doing and shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts. Entering the pool they sat side by side in silence, neither knowing what to say in this kind of situation. About to blurt out the first random thing that came to mind Keitaro was saved by Shinobu. "Um, Keitaro-kun? C-can I ask you a favour?" she asked shyly.

Thankful that she stopped him from saying something stupid Keitaro smiled at the young woman. "Of course you can."

'_O-OK Shinobu. You can do this. Just ask Keitaro-kun to wash your back. I-It's like Kitsune-sempai said. I may never have a chance to do something like this again.'_ She thought as steeled herself. "C-Can you... Can you help... Can you wash my... Can you help me was my ba- hair?" she finished lamely.

Keitaro blinked at the strange request. "er, sure Shinobu-chan." Shifting himself up onto the edge of the springs he allowed her to drift in front of him. "OK Shinobu-chan. Close your eyes for me." Once she had done as instructed Keitaro cupped his hands in the springs and poured in onto her already damp hair. Squeezing some shampoo onto his hands he started to massage it into Shinobu's hair. The girl in question currently had tears waterfalling down her face. _'I'm so pathetic.'_ She cried. _'Is it really so hard to ask him to wash my back? T-this could be my one and only chance with Keitaro-kun and I'm wasting it by having him wash my hair.'_ As he ran his fingers through her hair and massaged the shampoo into her scalp Shinobu sighed and leaned back_ 'Though... I guess this isn't so bad.'_

Keitaro smiled as she started to mew happily at the sensations. He hadn't washed someone's hair like this in a long time. In fact it was way back when he and Kanako had visited Hinata Sou. _'Huh. I haven't seen Kanako in a long time. I wonder if she's enjoying her trip with granny. I should ask her to come for a visit. I haven't even been able to talk to her since she left.'_ Keitaro smiled fondly as he thought about his sweet little sister. _'She used to love it when I washed her hair like this.'_ He reminisced about the days he spent with his little sister. _'Actually the last time we did this was in this hot springs and we promised too... run Hinata Sou together.'_ He paused in running his hands through Shinobu's hair.

Feeling that he had stopped his ministrations Shinobu turned and looked at him. "Is there something wrong Kei-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, no sorry. I was just thinking about the last time I did this." He told her.

Shinobu's breath stopped "Y-You've done this before?" she quailed _'W-who could have it been with? Naru-sempai and Motoko-sempai wouldn't do something like that. M-maybe Kitsune-sempai or Su-chan?'_

"Yea, years ago with my little sister." He informed her.

Shinobu let out a sigh of relief. _'That's good. He's only ever done this with his sis- wait what?'_ still half turned around "You have a little sister?"

"Well, adopted sister. Her name is Kanako. She must be about your age by now." He told her as he started to clean her hair again.

"How come you've never told us about her?" Shinobu wondered.

Keitaro just shrugged. "No one ever asked." He said simply.

"oh." She said thoughtfully. "Sorry." She said quietly.

Keitaro tilted his head. "What for?"

"For never taking any interest in your life. We've lived together for three years now and none of us even knew you had a sister." She said sadly.

"Well there's nothing much to tell. I got thrown out of my parents place and had to move in here, Haruka's my aunt and Hina's my granny and I was trying to get into Tokyo U. to meet with my promise girl."

"What do you mean 'was trying'? Are you giving up on Tokyo U.?" She asked concerned.

Keitaro let out a small laugh. "No I'm just not doing it to meet my promise girl anymore. I mean chances are she's in her final year by now so the possibility of meeting her is quite slim." he let out a sigh. "That's if she even remembered about it. I doubt anyone other than me would do something like that."

"I would." Shinobu said quietly.

"What was that Shinobu-chan?" he asked

"N-Nothing Kei-kun!" she said quickly while her mind ticked over. If he had given up on his promise girl then maybe he was giving up on Naru, the odds on favourite for Keitaro's long lost love interest. "So what are you planning to do when you get in?"

"_If _I get in then I'll probably try and become an archaeologist like Seta-san."

"_When _you get in. I know you will." She corrected him with a smile.

Returning her smile, he lowered his hands and hugged her around her neck. "Thanks Shinobu-chan. You always say just the right thing to make me feel better about myself."

Shinobu blushed deeply at the intimate contact between them but smiled back at him. "It's nothing that you haven't done for me." She reached up and rested her hand on his arm. When he realised how he was holding her he blushed just as deeply as Shinobu but didn't release her. Both just stared into each other's eyes before Keitaro cleared his throat and removed his arms. "er, I've finished washing your hair so close your eyes and I'll wash the shampoo out OK?" getting a nod Keitaro cupped his hands together and poured the water over her head. "OK all done Shinobu-chan."

"T-Thank you Kei-kun." Shinobu said as she slide over and allowed him to slip back into the warm water. As an uncomfortable silence descended on the springs again they cast about for something to talk about. "W-What is your sister like?" Shinobu asked.

Keitaro smiled. "Well I haven't seen her in a while since she's travelling around with Granny but she was always a really quiet girl who would follow me around. I don't know if she still does by she used to love to dress up and cosplay. At the strangest times you would see her dressed in one of her costumes." He laughed as he thought back to his younger days. "From what I understand she's also very good at our family style."

"Family style?" Shinobu asked. "You mean like Motoko-sempai?"

"Yea but ours is more hand-to-hand rather than fighting with a weapon." He explained.

"So does that mean you know it too?" she wondered.

Keitaro made a face "Not really. I never really liked to fight but granny insisted I lean so we agreed that I would be taught the defensive aspects of our style though I did lean some offensive moves, but since I never showed much enthusiasm for it she focused on my defensive training, which more or less amounted to me being a punching bag for Granny, Aunty, and Kanako-chan." He told her with a smile. "That's the main reason why I've been able to survive what Naru-chan and Motoko-chan throw at me."

"Haruka-san knows it?"

"Yep. Apparently the only person better at it than her is Granny but Kanako-chan is catching up with her."

"Really?"

"Uhuh, I've been told that she has a real talent for it." He said wistfully.

"You sound like you miss her." Shinobu noted.

"I do. I haven't seen her in a long time." Keitaro smiled softly at her. "Though you kind of remind me of her."

"I-I do?" Shinobu stuttered.

"Yea, she was really quiet when she was little and really cute just like you." He smiled. As they realised what he said they blushed deeply. "S-sorry I shouldn't have said that."

"I-It's fine Kei-kun." She murmured. Both fell back into another silence and both minds were racing. _'He thinks I'm cute! A-and the other morning he said I was beautiful! M-maybe Kitsune-sempai is right. I-I have to use this opportunity and tell him how I feel.'_ She thought, her face lighting up at the thought of finally confessinfg to her beloved.

Meanwhile Keitaro had his own thoughts on their current situation. _'I can't believe I just said that she was cute. If I keep doing stupid things like that then she's gonna think I'm coming onto her. I mean it's not like I'm not attracted to her, she's really beautiful and her legs are very - No I can't think about that kind of thing!' _he mentally yelled at himself. _'After what she's been through I can't act like this especially when we're naked in the hot springs. OK the best thing to do is just get out of here and get dressed as soon as possible.'_

Standing up while holding tightly onto his towel he said "I-I think I should go now."

Shinobu's eyes went wide as she saw her only chance of being with the man she loved literally making its way to the door. "W-Wait! T-There's something I have to tell you!" she called after him.

Backing away from the girl he said. "I-I really think it would be best if I left now."

Not willing to let this opportunity slip through her fingers Shinobu decided to go for broke. Running up to him she cried "I Love You!" reaching him she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. Keitaro's eyes went wide as the beautiful young woman held her body against his, his hands ran down her back, accepting her kiss and pulling her closer. Their minds were blank as the kiss continued; moaning into each other's mouth as their tongues danced with its counterpart, Keitaro caressed her towel covered back while Shinobu ran her fingers through his hair.

When their lips parted they stared into each other's eyes. "S-Shinobu-chan..." he murmured. Shinobu smiled at him before realising that not only she was pressed against him, her arms around his head and his around her waist but she had just confessed to and kissed her beloved.

Blushing a deeper red Shinobu cried "I'm Sorry!" before breaking out of his hold and running to the entrance to the changing rooms.

"Shinobu-chan Wait!" he called out and chased after her. Catching up to her Keitaro reached out and grabbed hold of her arm but running on the wet floor led to the inevitable and both slipped and fell with Keitaro managing to manoeuvre them so that she landed on top of him with both of their towels falling off. The end result was Shinobu laying on top of him, his arms around her waist holding onto her tightly and their faces centimetres apart. "S-Shinobu-chan..." her said as her reached up and brushed her hanging blue bangs out of her face before cupping her cheek and gently stroking it with his thumb.

"Kei-kun..." she whispered back as she stared into his chocolate brown eyes before lowering her face to his, pressing her lips against his and closing her eyes. As Keitaro relaxed into the kiss, he moaned lightly and gently ran his fingers up and down the smooth skin of her back until he brushed against her soft rear making her shudder. The feeling of their skin caressing the others made them realise something.

They were both naked.

Breaking their kiss, the two stared at each other's faces before turning bright red. Leaping apart they both dived back into the springs and submerged themselves up to their necks. Looking at each other they chuckled bashfully. "er, Shinobu-chan. I think we need to talk."

"Y-Yes, Kei-kun." She said quietly. _'I Kissed Keitaro-kun! And he kissed me back! M-maybe this means he feels the same way as me.'_ Shifting closer to Keitaro, she raised her self slightly so that the top of her small breasts were exposed to the air but the majority was still hidden below the water. _'I-It's like Kitsune-sempai said. I-I should do something like she would do.'_

Keitaro wasn't blind to this and had to forcefully make himself look away from the lovely young woman next to him. Grabbing the discarded towels, he wrapped one around his waist and handed the other to Shinobu. "er, did you really mean that?" he asked.

"Y-yes." She said quietly.

"I-I see." Was all he could think of to say. This was the first time anyone had ever confessed to him and he had no idea how he should answer. In truth he didn't even know how he felt about Shinobu. While he knew that he cared for her, maybe even loved her but he didn't know if these feelings were of a brother, friend or something else. And there was Naru...

"Um, y-you don't have to answer right now. B-but how do you feel about me?" she asked nervously.

"I...I don't really know Shinobu-chan." he said somewhat lamely.

"Oh." Was the girls reply.

"I-it's not that I don't like you, I mean you're smart and really beautiful and one of the most wonderful women I've ever met." He gently held her hand. "You're one of my closest friends but I... I'm just not sure how I feel right now." He tried to explain.

"I see." Shinobu murmured and lapsed into silence. Neither of them said anything for a while until Shinobu asked quietly "Kei-kun may I ask you something?"

"Sure." He told her.

"Is there any chance of you seeing me as more than your friend?" she asked, not meeting his eye. The silence that followed her question was almost unbearable for the girl. Keitaro was trying to figure out what to tell her, running through various scenarios in his head each ending up with her getting hurt. Finally he decided that the best course of action was to tell her the truth. Trouble was; he didn't know what the truth was. Anyone would consider himself lucky to have a girl like Shinobu chasing after them and to be honest he considered himself lucky that she would even want to associate with someone like him but for the past three years she had always been his little Shinobu, a little sister, someone delicate and in need protection from those that would do her harm. And whilst she was a little sister she was also a young woman, someone he had seen grow and blossom into the beautiful woman she had become. She had changed so much from the shy girl he had first met; she was a lot more confident than she originally was and even though there were times when self doubt and natural bashfulness got the better of her it just added to her charm.

Clearing his head of these thoughts he decided that he wouldn't get anywhere thinking about how he felt in the past and all that mattered was how he felt now. Turning to the young woman he saw her staring down nervously at her lap, tentatively awaiting his response. Keitaro looked at the beautiful face of the woman sitting next to him, obscured by the wet blue bangs hanging down. Through the blue hair he could see a small tear forming in the corner of her eye. Making up his mind then and there he gave her hand a squeeze and said "Yea Shino-chan, I could."

Shinobu's head shot up and a smile lit up her face. Leaping on top of him she pressed her lips against his and wrapped her arms around his neck. Keitaro's eyes went wide before he relaxed into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of her soft lips pressed against his and her tongue in his mouth. Grabbing onto her hips Keitaro gently pushed her away. "S-Shino-chan I-I didn't say that I do, just that I could." He tried to make sure the girl understood the distinction.

The chef just smiled. "I know but now that I know there is a chance I don't mind how long I have to wait for you to make a decision." She told him. Keitaro just looked at the smile of the girl straddling his legs, amazed at how beautiful it made her look.

"I'm glad you're happy Shino-chan." He reached up and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

Shifting herself so that she was sitting across his lap and resting her head on his shoulder, Shinobu's ever-present blush deepened at her new term of endearment. "I'm happy because of you." She murmured. Keitaro smiled and nuzzled his nose into her hair while gently stroking her hip. Meanwhile Shinobu's mind was racing. _'He said yes! I-I can't believe I may get a chance with Kei-kun!'_ she thought excitedly. _'M-maybe I should ask him if he could...' _she trailed off as her face turned a deeper shade of red.

'_She's really soft.'_ Keitaro idly thought as he pulled her closer to him. _'I can't believe someone as amazing her could like me.'_

"um, Kei-kun?" she interrupted his thoughts.

Looking down at her cute blushing face, he smiled and said "Yea Shino-chan?"

Gathering up her courage she asked. "C-could you wash my back?

Blushing fiercely as the implications of such an act ran through his mind, Keitaro open and closed his mouth like a goldfish. When he realised he still hadn't answered her question he said with a dry mouth "S-sure Shino-chan."

"Thank you Kei-kun." She murmured demurely. Standing up Shinobu held the towel close to her body which showed off her slight curves to Keitaro. Doing the same, Keitaro followed her to the stools. As Shinobu sat down Keitaro filled a bucket of water and grabbed a washcloth. Positioning himself on the stool behind her Keitaro "R-Ready Shino-chan?"

"Y-yes Kei-kun." Shinobu said quietly as she unwrapped her towel and exposed the porcelain like skin of her back. Keitaro stared at the pale, smooth skin in front of him, not moving a muscle. Holding the towel to her chest, Shinobu turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "I-Is there something wrong Kei-kun?"

"N-no. Sorry." He said as he dipped the cloth into the bucket of water before bringing it up to her back. As the soft towel ran up and down her back Shinobu mewed happily making him smile. As he rubbed her back Shinobu relaxed, leaned back slightly and stopped holding the towel to her chest, letting it pool in her lap. "I-Is this alright Shino-chan?" he asked.

"Y-Yes Kei-kun. This feels g-good." She murmured as he stroked her flanks with the washcloth. Smiling, Keitaro continued to wash her side until he brushed against her small breast making her blush and shiver. "A-are you cold Shino-chan?" he asked, unaware of what he just did.

"N-no Kei-kun. I'm fine." She insisted.

"O-Ok." He said as he switched to her other side. Sighing happily Shinobu leaned back into his chest, stopping him from washing her and making him wrap his arms around her waist. Looking over her shoulder and seeing the curious look on his face Shinobu smiled and leaned back to kiss him. Keitaro's eyes went wide as she pressed her lips against his but he eventually relaxed enough to close his eyes and stroke her smooth stomach, enjoying the feeling of her soft lips against his. _'This... this is really nice'_ he thought. So immersed in the sensation he only noticed that his hand had slide up to cup her breast when Shinobu gasped into his mouth and murmured "Kei-kun..."

Realising what he had done he broke the kiss and pulled his hand away "S-Sorry Shinobu-chan! I-I didn't mean to do that!"

Blushing Shinobu gave him a small smile "I-It's fine Kei-kun. D-Do you want me to wash your back?"

"S-sure Shinobu-chan." He answered. Giving him a shy smile, Shinobu wrapped the towel around her body and traded places with Keitaro. Taking the washcloth, she ran it up and down his back marvelling at how tense his muscles were. _'Kei-kun must be really stressed.'_ She thought. _'M-Maybe I can help him.'_ Dropping the cloth she started rub his back, gently massaging his muscles.

Keitaro was in a world of his own as Shinobu washed his back. _'I-I can't believe I just did that. I can't keep doing stupid things like that!'_ he yelled at himself. As Shinobu massaged his back he sighed as the tension eased away. _'She... she's really good at this.'_

"I-Is this alright Kei-kun?" Shinobu-asked. "I-I've never done something like this before so I don't know if I'm doing it right."

"You're doing great Shinobu-chan." He murmured.

"I'm glad." She gave him a small, happy smile as she caressed his shoulders. Seeing him visibly relax she stopped her massage, wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her chest against his back.

Feeling her breasts against his back undid all of her hard work as he instantly tensed up again. Looking over his shoulder he said. "S-Shino-chan?"

"I-If you like Kei-kun, I can do this whenever you want. Y-you just have to ask." She told him. Reaching back he pulled Shinobu around to sit across his lap. Staring into her beautiful eyes he thought _'She's so different than she was a few days ago.' _Reaching his hand up her cupped her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. "Thanks' Shino-chan. I appreciate the offer."

"I don't mind if it's for you." She whispered and kissed him again. Moaning into her mouth, Keitaro wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Breaking the kiss Shinobu let out a content sigh as she rested her forehead against his.

Staring into her blue eyes Keitaro said "I-it's getting late Shino-chan. We should get to bed."

"S-Sure Kei-kun. Um, would it be alright if I slept with you again?" she asked blushing deeply.

"I-If that's what you want Shino-chan." He answered as he stroked her sides. "Shall we go?" nodding her head, Shinobu stood up, grabbed hold of his arm and they walked to the changing room together. Getting to the door Keitaro opened it and said "Y-You can go first Shino-chan."

Blushing and not meeting his eyes she said "Y-you can come in with me i-if you want."

"A-are you sure Shinobu-chan?" he said as his mouth went dry. "Y-you know with me..."

"Y-yes it's fine. I trust you." Her face turning bright red.

"O-OK then." He said as he allowed her to enter before following. Keeping their backs turned away from each other, they shed their towels and started to dry themselves, occasionally stealing quick glances over their shoulders at the other party before slipping on a robe each. "A-All done Shino-chan?"

"Y-yes Kei-kun." She said. Grabbing her clothes, she picked up Keitaro's as well. "I'll put your clothes for washing."

"You don't have to do that Shino-chan." He told her.

"Yes I do." She said quietly. "It's the least I can do for everything you've done for me."

Keitaro frowned slightly "Shino-chan, don't think like that. You don't have to thank me, I'm just happy to be able to help you."

"I like being useful to you." She looked away from him.

"You are useful Shino-chan." He reassured her and gently patted her head. "I can't tell you the number of times I was close to giving up only to try harder all because you believed in me and because I didn't want to disappoint you. I would have probably have ended up back at my parents if it wasn't for you."

"It's nothing you haven't done for me." She murmured "Doing things like this makes me feel useful and is the only way I can repay you for everything you've done for me." She hung her head and held his clothes tightly to her chest, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

Sighing, Keitaro stroked her hair before resting his hand on her shoulder. "I've already told you that you don't have to repay me but if it makes you happy go ahead. We'll meet in my room OK?"

Smiling brightly at him she said "Yes, Kei-kun"

Returning Shinobu's smile he led her to the door, all the while she kept her happy smile and his clothes close to her chest. Parting ways at the door, Keitaro watched as Shinobu walked off. _'Someone like her likes someone like me.'_ He thought bemusedly as he retreated back to his room. Moving over to his dresser, he pulled out his pyjamas and quickly put them on before Shinobu arrived at his door. Announcing her presence with a knock Shinobu called out. "Kei-kun? C-Can I come in."

"S-Sure Shino-chan." He answered her and turned around to see Shinobu slide open the door and enter. Seeing her, his eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. Standing nervously at the door, all Shinobu wore was a large shirt with all but the top two buttons done up, the lower hem of the shirt just reaching past her hips so it showed off her beautiful legs.

Blushing deeply she said "I-I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your shirt Kei-kun."

Swallowing hard he said "N-no it's fine, Shino-chan. S-shall we get to bed?"

Nodding her head, Shinobu helped him set out his futon before slipping into it. Laying in the futon side by side neither spoke, unsure of what to say. Deciding to continue on this streak of boldness that was proving fortuitous, Shinobu slid closer to Keitaro, turning on her side to rest her head on his shoulder. Seeing the shocked look on his face Shinobu blushed and asked "I-is this alright Kei-kun?"

"I-It's fine Shino-chan. I don't mind." He said as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

Smiling demurely she whispered. "I love you Kei-kun." Before leaning up to kiss him again. Getting used to her soft lips pressed against his and her tongue gently stroking his Keitaro relaxed into the kiss much quicker than before, turning onto his side and resting his free hand on her hip all the while returning her kiss. Pulling his lips away from hers, Keitaro rested his forehead against hers while staring into her deep blue eyes. _'She's so beautiful.'_ He thought as he stroked her hip and gently pulled her closer to him. Shinobu meanwhile returned his gaze with similar appreciation. _'He has the most wonderful eyes.'_ She thought as she let him draw her closer to his chest _'They're so gentle and full of care.'_ She lost herself in his gaze but her eyes widened as she felt something poke into her hip.

Blushing twice as much as Shinobu when she realised what was poking her, Keitaro stammered out an apology. "S-Sorry Shinobu-chan, I-It just that-!"

"I-It's Fine Kei-Kun!" she reassured him. _'K-Kei-kun is like that because of me!'_ she thought gleefully. "W-We should get to sleep now."

"Y-Yea" Keitaro agreed "G-Good night Shino-chan."

"Good night Kei-kun. I love you." She repeated as she buried her face into his chest and again received no answer from the man she confessed to but right now, that didn't matter to Shinobu as she felt his hands caress her back and run through her hair. This was the closest she had dared imagined she would ever get to being a candidate for Keitaro's love and now that she has rolled the dice she just had to wait and see where it fell.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Keitaro awoke to the pleasant sight of Shinobu's blue hair nestled under his chin. Smiling as he stroked her back, Keitaro pulled away slightly to have a look at her face which made her moan slightly at being moved. Reaching up he gently brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her beautiful face. _'This is nice, waking up with her in my arms.'_ He thought as she lightly nuzzled into his hand. Giving his clock a quick glance he saw that it was about the time that Shinobu would wake up to make everyone breakfast. Looking back at the young chef he gently whispered "Shino-chan? Are you awake Shino-chan?"

The girl just mmmed and snuggled closer to him. Keitaro gave her a small smile and thought _'I guess I should let her sleep. She does so much for everyone else she deserves a lie-in especially since she would only be cooking for the two of us.'_ Trying to pull away from her only resulted in her holding more tightly to him. After several unsuccessful attempts to extract himself he managed to manoeuvre them so that his pillow took his place. Seeing the girl squeeze and nuzzle into the pillow Keitaro gently stroked her hair before leaving his room as silently as possible.

After making a small detour to the bathroom, he headed to the kitchen to make a meal for the two of them. While he was nowhere near as talented in the kitchen as Shinobu, he could do a lot better than most of the other residents when it came to making an edible meal. Halfway though making the food, Keitaro heard a small cry and then the rapid thumping of feet running down the stairs towards the kitchen. Turning her saw Shinobu rushing into the room.

"I'm sorry I over slept!" she cried out as entered the kitchen but wasn't able to slow down in time to stop herself running into Keitaro. Falling over, Keitaro managed to wrap his arms around her so that his hands shielded her head and back from the hard wooden floor. The end result however was Keitaro lying on top of Shinobu, their faces close together.

"Are you OK Shino-chan?" he asked as he lifted his weight off of her.

"Y-Yes, Kei-kun. T-thank you." She blushed. Realising that he was still on top of her Keitaro pulled away so that his knees were placed on either side of her feet. Pushing herself up with her hands Shinobu looked up to see Keitaro staring at her with his mouth agape. "I-Is there something wrong Kei-kun?" she asked.

"N-no Shino-chan." He said still staring at her. What Shinobu didn't know was that in the fall her shirt had ridden up to above her midriff, showing off her pale, perfectly smooth stomach, the porcelain like skin of her long legs and the blue and white striped panties which hugged her hips not to mention that how she was sitting meant that her could look down her shirt to see her bare chest. "H-here, let me help you up." He said as he held out his hand for her.

"T-Thank you Kei-kun." She smiled and took a hold of his hand. Keitaro pulled her up before she could realise what state she had been in. "Are you OK Kei-kun? Your face is flushed."

"Y-Yea I'm fine Shino-chan." He reassured her as he tried to stop thinking about her lithe body. "W-why did you come running in here?"

"Because I overslept and haven't started breakfast yet." She said bashfully.

Resting his hand on her shoulder he said. "Don't worry about that Shino-chan, I'm making you breakfast today."

"B-But..."

"My cooking's not that bad is it?" he gave her a smile.

"N-No, it's just that I like cooking for you." She blushed, unable to meet his eyes.

Still smiling he moved his hand up to her head and gently stroked her hair "Well, why don't we make it together then?"

Nodding her head she happily returned his smile. "Sure Kei-kun. I'd like that." Taking a hold of her hand, Keitaro led her over to the stove. Working together the meal soon came together until all that was left was to do was prepare some vegetables. Moving towards the fridge, Keitaro squeezed past Shinobu by gently holding onto her hips which sent a shiver through her body making her blush.

"Sorry Shino-chan." He said as he moved passed her to get the food.

"It's fine Kei-kun." She smiled happily at him. Retrieving the necessary ingredients, Keitaro quickly cut them up and added them to the pan Shinobu was currently stirring. Smiling as she finished mixing the food together, Shinobu held out the wooden spoon. "Say ahh Kei-kun." She smiled.

Complying with her wishes, Keitaro leant down and took the spoon in his mouth. "mmm, this tastes great Shino-chan!" he told her. Shinobu giggled and smiled happily. Keitaro couldn't help but smile back. She never looked more beautiful than when she was in her natural element. "You're really amazing. You know that don't you?" he told her as he ran his hand through her hair.

"Thank you Kei-kun." She said blushing. "I love you Kei-kun."

"Shino-chan..."

"I-is it alright if I kiss you?" she asked as she stared deeply into his eyes.

"I-I don't think that's a good idea Shino-chan." He told her.

"OK." She looked down in disappointment. Seeing the despondent look in her eyes Keitaro sighed and stepped forward to cup her chin. Seeing her surprised expression Keitaro smiled and said. "I guess there's no harm in it at this point." Leaning down he pressed his lips against hers. Shinobu's eyes went wide for a moment before relaxing into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull in closer while pressing her body against his and moaning softly. Enjoying it as much as Shinobu was, Keitaro moaned and slightly slid his hands down her body before slipping under her shirt to rest on her hips.

Breaking the kiss but not wanting this moment to end, Shinobu moved her arms to hug him around the waist while resting her head on his chest. In response to this Keitaro raised his hands so they stroked the smooth skin of her back. "This is nice." Shinobu murmured.

"Yea." Keitaro agreed and nuzzled into her blue hair. "We should take care of the food before it burns." Nodding her head Shinobu smiled and leaned up to kiss him again before parting in time to hear the front door open burst open and slam shut. With footsteps rushing to the kitchen Naru suddenly appeared at the doorway and narrowed her eyes at Keitaro.

"What's going on here?" she looked suspiciously at them.

Giving her a sigh Keitaro said. "We're making breakfast Naru-san."

Naru glared at him "Then why are you in your pyjamas and why is she wearing one of _your_ shirts?" she asked with an edge to her voice.

Keitaro and Shinobu looked at each other. "er..." Keitaro started.

"I-I ran out of pyjamas so I asked Sempai if I could borrow his shirt." Shinobu quickly improvised.

"How did you run out of pyjamas?" Naru picked holes in their story.

"I-I ran out of room on the last load so I washed my normal clothes and everyone else's before my nightclothes but before I could put them in the machine Su-chan dragged me off to make her something to eat." She tried to make a reasonable excuse.

"Why his shirt? Why didn't you borrow something of ours?" she continued her interrogation.

"I-it didn't seem right to borrow your clothes without permission a-and it didn't seem right to bother any of you over something like this." Shinobu hoped Naru would believe her.

"He didn't try to do something to you, did he?" Naru asked as Keitaro rolled his eyes and turned to take care of the food that was going to be ruined if Naru distracted them for much longer.

"Of course he didn't. Sempai wouldn't do something like that." Shinobu defended her beloved.

"mmm, alright. If you're sure he didn't do anything. You should get dressed though. You can never be too careful when dealing with men."

"I'll get dressed after breakfast. After all, I should be alright with you here." She tried to placate the older girl. Naru frowned but didn't press the subject.

"Have you eaten yet Naru-sempai?" Shinobu asked.

"Not yet no." She said tersely.

"Why are you here so early? Why didn't you just eat at your parents place?" he asked.

"Because I had to make sure you didn't try anything with her." She growled. Keitaro remained silent. While he could point out that if he was going to do anything to Shinobu, he would have done it last night when they were all alone rather than today when others were due back but didn't fancy a trip to lower earth orbit.

"S-so how is Mei-chan doing?" Shinobu asked trying to find a safe topic.

"oh she's fine. She's doing well in school as well. I think she just wanted to hang out with me rather than she needed help." Naru said.

"You should invite her to stay over sometime seeing as it'll be a while before the school holidays are over." Keitaro suggested. Naru just mmmed her response. The rest of the meal was filled with casual conversation like this, steered away from topics that would result in Keitaro getting pummelled. Once they had all eaten their fill Naru stretched her arms above her head as Keitaro started to clear the table and said. "Well I'm going to drop my bag off in my room and then go for a dip in the springs. You want to join me Shinobu-chan?"

"Sure, just let me help Sempai clean up and I'll join you." Shinobu replied.

Nodding her head Naru turned and glared at Keitaro. "You keep away from there, alright?" she told him.

"Whatever you say Naru-chan." Keitaro said in a tired tone of voice. Grunting in response Naru left them to clear the table. As the dishes were moved into the kitchen the pair set about washing the plates. "I can take care of this if you want to get in the springs."

Smiling up at him she replied "It's fine. I like helping you Kei-kun." She used his name in a conspiratorialwhisper and giggled.

Returning her smile Keitaro looked over his shoulder to make sure they were alone before leaning down and kissing her cheek. "Thanks Shino-chan." Both blushed and continued to finish their work. Once they were done Keitaro said "I'm gonna go down and see Aunty for a while after I get dressed so if you need me you know where to find me." He petted her head.

"Sure Kei-kun." She smiled.

"OK, you go enjoy your bath."

'_I'd enjoy it more if you were bathing with me.'_ She thought privately. Quickly wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave him a quick kiss before heading towards the springs "See you later Kei-kun."

Keitaro brought his hand up to his lips as he stared after her, admiring how amazing she looked wearing his shirt. Shaking his head to clear his mind of such thoughts Keitaro made his way to his room to get dressed.

* * *

**Haruka's Tea Shop**

"Hey Aunty, don't suppose you would like to join me for some early morning tea?" Keitaro asked as he sat at her counter.

Scowling at her nephew Haruka pointed to an empty booth and said "I'm keeping count of how many times you say _that _word, you know. And as soon as you get those stitches out of I'm paying you back for each and every one."

Letting out a small laugh he sat down and waited for Haruka to sit down with a pair of cups. "This is really good." Keitaro said as he took a sip of his tea.

"So what's wrong?" Haruka got straight to the point.

Keitaro blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You left Shinobu-chan all by herself to have tea with me, which you never do unless you've gotten yourself into some sort of trouble, so what's the matter?"

"She's not alone. Naru-sans up there with her." He mumbled.

"Let me guess, to make sure you didn't do anything to Shinobu-chan right?" Keitaro nodded. Haruka sighed and shook her head. "Figures." She muttered as she waited for her nephew to talk while he just stared into his drink.

"Shinobu-chan said she loved me." He told her quietly.

"Is that so?" Haruka said as she lit a cigarette.

"You don't sound surprised." Keitaro noted.

"Do I ever?" she replied.

"Good point." Keitaro gave a mirthless laugh.

"I presume by the way you're moping down here that you didn't give her an answer?" she inhaled deeply on her cigarette when he nodded his head. "So what's the problem?"

"I...I don't know what I should say to her." He sighed.

"Well, tell her how you feel." His aunt responded.

"That's just it though. I don't know how I feel about her." He said morosely.

Sighing in annoyance Haruka asked "Do you love her?"

"I guess..." he murmured.

"You guess?" Haruka raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know Haruka!" he placed his forehead on the table with an exasperated sigh. "I-I know that I love her, I just don't know in what way."

"What ways are there?" Haruka asked.

"Well, as a sister I guess. I see a lot of Kana-chan in her. She's a really sweet and fragile girl and I can't help but think of her as someone that needs to be protected."

Haruka raised an eyebrow at the thought of Kanako as someone needing to be protected but didn't comment on it "And the other way."

"The other way..." he sighed again. "The other way is as the beautiful woman she has become. She's really amazing. She does so much around the dorm without even being asked and... and I can't believe that she could love someone like me."

"Kei-kun, don't talk about yourself that way." She scolded him.

Giving her a small smile he said "It's fine Haruka. I know I'm not much of a catch and I should be ecstatic that I would have a chance with her but..." he trailed off.

"But?" Haruka pressed.

"But I don't want to hurt her. If I make the wrong choice it would really hurt her and I can't bear the thought of doing that to her."

"That's how life is sometimes Kei-kun, a coin toss between making someone happy and hurting them whatever choice you make but you sometimes you just have to take a chance. Besides, you shouldn't underestimate Shinobu-chan. She's a strong girl and more resilient than you think. After all she's been hurt before. Her parent's divorce, what she's been through lately-"

"And that's why I don't want to hurt her." He cut her off as he raised his head to look his aunt in the eye. "Someone like her... shouldn't have gone through what she has. She... she means so much to me I couldn't hurt her like that." He rested his head back on the table. Haruka smiled sadly at nephew and gently stroked his hair. "Kei-kun..."

"That's not the only thing I'm worried about." He continued quietly.

"What else?"

"I'm worried that what Shinobu-chan feels isn't real."

Haruka frowned at this "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm worried she only feels this way because of what happened to her and because I saved her. You remember what she was like when I brought her back here. She freaked out when I was about to leave her, what if this is all part of her being afraid of being alone. If her feelings are because of what happened to her and I accepted them I'd feel like I would be taking advantage of her. I'd be no better than that bastard." His voice hardening at the end.

"Do you really think that's the only reason why she loves you?" Haruka carefully asked.

"I can't see any other reason. I mean there are plenty of other guys out who would be a better boyfriend for her than me. I can't see how she would prefer me over them." He said mumbled. Haruka remained silent. After a minute of silence Keitaro raised his head only for him to be slammed back down when Haruka hit him. "Ow! What was that for?" He looked at her while holding his sore head.

She wacked his head again "For being such an idiot!"

"Ow! Hey I thought you said you weren't going to hit me?"

"That was before I realised how stupid you are!" She hit him again.

"Stop that! What the hell are you talking about?" he yelled.

"I'm saying that she's always loved you, you idiot! How could you not know that!"

"S-She has?" he asked wide eyed.

"Yes! How could you be the one person who doesn't realise?"

"You mean everyone knows?" he asked amazed.

"Yes! Despite what Shinobu-chan may think, the only person she's managed to hide it from is you! It's as plain as day to anyone who spends five minutes with the pair of you that she's in love with you."

"It is?"

Massaging her temples she cried "God, how did I get such a stupid nephew?"

"Maybe it has something to do with someone hitting me on the head all my life for calling her aunty." he scowled at her before his expression softened. "So she really loves me?"

"Yes!" She said exasperated. "It was more or less love at first sight." She paused for a moment to think about Shinobu's first meeting with her nephew "Well maybe not at first sight but at least after you organised that party for her."

"I never knew." he murmured.

"That's because you're an idiot." Haruka said simply and took a sip of her tea.

"But... why?"

"Genetics probably, your dad was never very smart either." Haruka said casually.

"No, why does she love me?" he frowned at his aunt "I'm nowhere near good enough for a girl like Shinobu. She's... she's beautiful, kind, caring, one of the most amazing women I've ever met and I'm... I'm me." Haruka hit him again. "What was that for!" he glared at her.

"I won't have anyone talk about my nephew like that especially himself."

"You call me an idiot all the time." he groused.

"Since I'm the one who has to put up with your stupidity I'm allowed to." She countered. "Now you listen to me Keitaro Urashima. All those men out there that you consider a better match for her are nothing like you and that is why she loves you. You are a good and honest person and for every man like you there are thousands who are the exact opposite. They wouldn't treat her with the same care and respect that she deserves because they haven't seen her grow into the woman she is today like you have. They would use her and abuse her and that would hurt her more than anything you could ever do to her. If you are going to reject her feelings do it because you don't feel the same way, not because you think that she can do better." She ordered him.

Giving her a small smile he nodded. "Sure Aunty. Whatever you say."

"Good." Haruka huffed. "Now you get out of here and think about what you're going to say to Shinobu-chan."

Keitaro raised an eyebrow. "I can't stay here?"

"No, you're making the place look untidy now shoo." She waved him away.

"Thanks Aunty." He laughed as he left her.

Watching her nephew walk out the door, Haruka shook her head. "Maybe all those fans to the head did make him an idiot." She thought aloud before moving to serve a customer.

* * *

Exiting the tea rooms, Keitaro looked up at the dorm with a sigh. _'She's always loved me huh?'_ he thought.

He was brought out of his reverie when someone poked his cheek. "Oi, Kei-kun. What are you doing down here?" Turning, he saw Kitsune smiling at him, one hand on her hip with a curious expression on her face.

"Hey Kitsune. You enjoy your night out?" he returned her smile.

"mmm, not too bad." She stretched her arms above her head, making her breasts push out slightly. "Would have been better if you were there with me." She pouted cutely.

Letting out a small laugh Keitaro asked. "Did you have much to drink?"

Still pouting she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. "Of course not. I was a very good girl last night." She said innocently.

"I'm sure you were." He smiled and wrapped his hands around her waist.

"So why are you down here and left our little Shinobu-chan all by herself?" she asked.

"Naru-chan's already back." He told her.

"Ah, I guess that answers my question." Kitsune smiled and took a step back. "So, did you enjoy your night alone with Shinobu-chan?"

"Y-yea, it was alright." He said blushing.

"Is that so?" Kitsune said thoughtfully. Grabbing onto his arm with her breasts pressed against him she smiled. "Well, I don't suppose you would want to come with me to do some shopping?"

"er, sure but I don't have any money on me." He warned her as they left the courtyard.

"No problem, I've got a huge wad of cash remember?" she smiled as she held onto his arm more tightly.

"That was meant to be for your rent." He reminded her.

"mmm, good point. Oh well, if I do spend all my money I'll just have to come up with another way paying my handsom manager his rent." She rested her head on his shoulder and gave him a sultry smile.

Grinning in response he said "I'm sure you can Kitsune." He moved his arm her waist. "So what is it that you want buy?"

"I need to get some new panties and lingerie so I need a man's opinion." She purred.

"Wait, w-what did you just say?" he cried as he blushed red. "H-Hang on a minute Kitsune!" The woman just laughed and pulled him along, not giving him a chance to escape.

* * *

"What do you think of this one Kei-kun?" Kitsune asked as she held up a pair of lacy pink panties for him to inspect.

"er, great?" he asked uncertainly, clearly uncomfortable being surrounded by women's underwear.

"mmm, what about this frilly one? What one do you think would look best on me?" she asked, enjoying his discomfort.

"I have no idea what would look better on you Kitsune." He said with a sigh.

"Well how about I model them for you? Then you can tell me which one you like best?" she purred which made him stutter and start as she continued to browse through the items. "Or what about this one? It comes with this bra as a set. Ooo look at this, they're see-through as well!" she giggled as he struggled to hold back his nosebleed.

"Why did you bring me along Kitsune?" he asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Do I need a reason to want to spend time with you?" she asked "Besides don't you like looking at girls panties?"

Ignoring her last comment he replied "Of course you don't need a reason it's just...why here?"

"I told you, I needed to buy some new panties and lingerie so I might as well get them now while you're here to help me pick out something sexy!" She grinned. "Besides, you look so cute when you get all embarrassed." Keitaro just shook his head in resignation. "Come on, is it really so terrible to help a beautiful woman like myself choose some sexy underwear?" she pouted.

"Of course it isn't." He replied. _'I just have other things on my mind right now.'_

"Good, now what do you think of this one?" she held up another garment.

"Yea it looks grea- wait, what is that?" he frowned at the item in question.

"You like?" she laughed.

"How would you even put that on?" he asked looking at the obscure article of clothing.

"Well," she stepped forward and pressed her body against his. "if you're good I'll give you a demonstration." She purred as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'll even show you how to take it off if you like."

Smiling he rested his hands on the small of her back. "Thanks, but I think that's one mystery that I can live with being unsolved."

"Spoilsport." She pouted before smiling and releasing her hold on him. Returning it to where she got it from Kitsune continued to look through the racks of skimpy underwear. "So did you have fun last night when you and Shinobu-chan were all alone?"

"Y-yea, we had fun." Keitaro said while blushing.

"What did the two of you get up too?" she asked innocently.

"Y-You know, this and that. I helped her with her homework; we watched some TV and then went to bed." His face turned a darker shade of red as memories of what transpired last night filtered into his head.

"Really?" Kitsune mmmed. "In the same bed?"

"N-No of course not!" he stammered a reply.

Kitsune smiled at him. _'You're a really bad liar Kei-kun. You're blushing even more than when I offered to model these panties for you.'_ Stepping up to him she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. "Now Kei-kun I know that's a lie. And you know I won't stop harassing you until you tell me the truth. So, you can either tell me exactly what happened now _or_ I can drag you into the changing room to have you give me your opinions on every item of clothing in this shop as I model them for you and once we're done I'll still be bugging you to tell me what went on." She threatened.

"That doesn't seem like much of a punishment." He joked weakly.

"Well, if that's what you're into there's a whole section dedicated to that downstairs if you want to check it ou-"

"No!" Keitaro said quickly. Realising that the game was up he said "OK, I'll tell you but can we talk somewhere else."

"Alright then. Let me just pick out something sexy and slinky and we'll go OK?" she let go of his neck and continued to browse the shops wide selection of risqué undergarments. Picking up a couple she said "Right I'll just go try them on."

"Do you have to?" he asked, not really wanting to be left alone surrounded by these types of clothes.

Pouting, she pressed herself against him again and said. "But if I don't, how will I know if I look good in them?"

"You'd look good in anything Kitsune." He replied, more trying to get out of there than trying to flatter her but still made her blush.

"Be that as it may, I still have to make sure they fit otherwise we'll have to come back and return them." Her eyes gleamed "Or is that what you're planning? Wanting us to come back to get me to try on more of this stuff?" she grinned.

Becoming more at ease with Kitsunes jokes and flirts Keitaro just laughed. "No, it's just that I don't really want people to see me in here all alone." He explained to her.

"Well you can just join me in the changing room." She purred and seductively licked her lips.

Resting his hands on her hips, he smiled at her. "As nice as that sounds I'll pass this time. I'll just wait outside until you're done." He gently gave her hips a squeeze before heading to the door.

"Sure, because hanging outside a lingerie shop looks so much better than being in one!" she called after him. Keitaro stopped mid step as he considered this but just shook his head and continued out the door leaving a laughing Kitsune to make her choice.

* * *

**A Short Time Later**

"Hey Kitsune. Did you get what you wanted?" Keitaro smiled as she walked up to him holding a couple of bags.

Grabbing onto his arm she smiled at him. "Yep, wanna see?" she grinned at him.

"Maybe later." He returned her grin. "We're not exactly in a secluded place."

"Good point, I'll organise a private _viewing_ later." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'll look forward to it." He flirted back. "I think you wanted to talk about something." Keitaro said.

"Yep, but first we're going for a walk in the park and you're going to buy me an ice-cream." Kitsune demanded playfully.

"I already told you that I don't have any money on me." He reminded her.

"mmm, good point. I guess I'll have to think of a way for you to pay me back." She leered at him. Walking to the local park, Kitsune decided that he can start to pay her back for having to buy her own ice-cream by carrying her bags while she held onto his arm. After buying their ice-cream Kitsune and Keitaro sat down by a fountain and she waited for him to start.

"Shinobu-chan told me that she loved me." He said simply.

Kitsune's eyes went wide at the revelation. "Seriously?"

"I didn't believe it at first either." He smiled. "I'm not exactly boyfriend material."

"It's not that, I'm just surprised Shinobu-chan was brave enough to actually confess." Kitsune said as she licked her ice-cream. _'I know I hinted at her to do something like that I didn't think she would actually do it.'_ She re-evaluated the image she had of the young chef.

"So everyone else already knew that she loved me." He confirmed what his aunt had told him.

"Yea, didn't you?" she asked. Keitaro just silently shook his head no. "Really? I just thought that you were ignoring her feelings until she was older."

"I knew that she was fond of me but I had no idea that she loved me."

"So why were you hanging out downstairs instead of getting all lovie dovie with Shinobu-chan?" Kitsune asked.

"You mean apart from the fact that Naru-chan had rushed home to make sure that I didn't do anything perverted to Shinobu-chan." He let out a small sigh. "I didn't really know how to answer her."

"You mean you just left her hanging?" she asked slightly horrified.

"Not exactly. When we were in the hotsprings she asked if I could see her as a girlfriend and I said yes. She said that she was happy with that and that I can take my time to answer her."

Kitsune's ears twitched. "Hot springs?" Keitaro turned a few shades paler as Kitsune's grin grew larger. "How did you get her into the hot springs with you? No, No let me guess. You were going to clean the springs and _'forgot'_ that that she was bathing?" she cackled.

"She invited me actually." He said somewhat archly.

"Really?" he nodded. "Wow. I didn't think she was that bold." Kitsune murmured. "She's really changed in the last few days." Keitaro stiffened slightly as she brushed against one of his main issues. "Ever since that day we found her in your bed." Kitsune narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nothing happened between us." He said instantly in case she jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"I know. She wouldn't have had sex with you three days ago and only confess last night. And I know you would never pressure her or force her to sleep with you but that still doesn't explain why she was in your bed." She eyed him suspiciously.

"She had a nightmare and didn't want to sleep alone." He said guardedly.

"But before that day she could barely look you in the eye when she talked to you let alone sleep next to you for the entire night." Keitaro just stared at her, his expression giving nothing away. "Did you know that I'm quite good at playing poker?"

Keitaro blinked. "No." He said wondering where she was going with this.

"Well I am. And an important part of being a good poker player is to know when someone is lying. For example, back at the lingerie shop you blushed and stuttered like you always do when you think you're about to get into trouble. Those are what are known as tells. Another kind of tell is when you do something out of the ordinary such as the way your tone of voice was very defensive when you told me that unusually coherent excuse about why she was in your bed. And the only reason why that would happen is if it was something very important that you had to hide. But then again, you did such a terrible job at lying about what happened last night. That means whatever happened three days ago is more important that Shinobu-chan declaring her love for you. And that makes me wonder what could possibly be more important than Shinobu-chan confessing to you that you'd want to hide from the rest of us." She folded her arms and waited to see if he had anything to say but when he remained silent she sighed.

Standing up Kitsune stood in front of him and hugged his face to her breasts. Momentarily distracted by the warmth that suddenly surrounded his face as well as the subtle scent of her perfume, Keitaro looked up at her in wide eyed amazement. "K-Kitsune?"

"I know you wouldn't keep anything that important from us unless you had too and I'm not just going to forget about it but I'll let it go for today. Just know that if you need to talk about anything you can always talk to me OK?" she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

Keitaro just stared up at her for a moment before reaching around her waist to pull her closer and nuzzled slightly into her chest. "Thanks Kitsune."

"Any time Kei-kun." She smiled and they stayed in that position a while longer until she pulled away and sat next to him, her head on his shoulder while he held her around the waist. "So why haven't you given Shinobu-chan an answer yet?"

"I-I'm worried that it'll be a mistake and I'll end up hurting her." He told her as he tilted his head to rest on top of hers.

"Why do you think it'll be a mistake?" She asked.

"Well she hasn't had much experience around guys." He started.

"Oh is that all you're worried about? If you want, I'll take her aside and teach her _everything_ she needs to know." she leered at him.

Keitaro let out a small laugh and shook his head "That's not what I meant. I mean that besides her dad, I'm the only guy she's ever been around for a long period of time. I'm afraid that she sees me through rose tinted glasses and I know I won't be able to live up to the image she has of me. I'll only end up disappointing her." He sighed "Besides there are probably lots of guys out there that would be a better boyfriend than me." He said as he gently rubbed her side.

"Oh I wouldn't say that." Kitsune murmured.

"Huh?"

"I can think of quite a few things that would attract a girl to you." Kitsune raised her head from his shoulder, brought her hand up to cup the side of his face and pressed her lips against his. Keitaro's eyes shot open at this but he didn't pull away. When she finally broke the kiss Keitaro murmured "K-Kitsune..."

"Now Kei-kun, I just want you to think about how you feel about Shinobu-chan and nothing else. That's what is important right now."

"B-But if you l-" he started but was silenced by her finger pressed against his lips.

"Kei-kun, I've twice stepped aside for someone who either is too much of a coward to take a chance or too stupid realise when she has a good thing and I'm probably going to regret doing that for the rest of my life but now..." she sighed. "If it's for someone who deserves it I don't mind stepping aside one more time. Just promise that if for some reason things don't work out you'll give me a chance?"

Brushing her hair out of the way he smiled at her. "Of course Kitsune, you'll be at the top of the list."

"Oh? There's a list is there? Just how many girls have you got in reserve?" she playfully questioned him.

"N-no I didn't mean it like that!" He cried.

Giggling Kitsune grabbed his flailing arms and grinned. "You know, I hope you and Shinobu-chan do get together, you're both so cute when you blush and since the two of you are so easy to tease I'll have plenty of ways to make the two of you go all red!"

"Kitsune!" he cried.

"I'm just kidding Kei-kun". She stood up and pulled him with her. "I wish you and Shinobu-chan all the best." She smiled and hugged him.

"Thanks Kitsune." He said as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Can I ask you something?" Kitsune nodded her head, rubbing her cheek against his chest. "Do you really love me?"

"Yea, I do." She murmured."But I don't want you to think about that. All you have to think about is how you think is how you feel about Shinobu-chan and Naru-chan." The last part came out as a whisper.

"I know. I just wanted to know for sure. How long have you felt that way?" he asked

Kitsune shrugged. "For a while I guess. But I think I only realised how much I loved you when you forgave me for what I have done to you."

"I see." He said as he squeezed her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Are you sure-" he started but was silenced when she pressed her lips against his again.

"I'm sure." She said quietly. "This isn't the first time I've given up on someone I love for someone else. You just decide how you feel about Shinobu-chan and Naru-chan. I know that you've had feelings for her but I don't know how you feel about Naru anymore and that's something you're going to have to decide for yourself, but just know this. I'm only going to give you up to Shinobu-chan. If you reject her and continue to go after Naru-chan I'll do everything in my power to claim you for my own. And I know Shinobu-chan will do the exact same thing." She warned him.

"But Naru-chan's your best friend." He pointed out.

"And she could have put me in hospital yesterday if you didn't push me out of the way." She reminded him. "At this point, all bets are off. I don't know if she does what she does because she's jealous or just an idiot but if she can't recognise how lucky she is to have a wonderful man like you chasing after her then she doesn't deserve you. I know the kind of guy you are and would love to be more than friends with you but... so does Shinobu-chan." Kitsune sighed. "And she's much more deserving of your love than anyone else. So if it's her I'm willing to step down and give the two of you my full support."

"Thanks Kitsu-chan." he hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"No problem Kei-kun." she smiled at her new pet name and nuzzled her face into his chest "Can I ask you something Kei-kun?"

"Sure Kitsu-chan. What do you want to know?" He asked as he gently squeezed her around her waist while stroking her back and nuzzling into her short silky hair enjoying the smell of her shampoo.

The content smile on her face changed into a mischievous grin "What _exactly_ did you and Shinobu-chan get up to in the hotsprings?"

* * *

**Courtyard At The Base Of The Stairway To Hinata Sou**

Arriving at the stone steps with Kitsune still wrapped around his arm and Keitaro playing pack mule, they paused and looked up at the old inn. "So, have you made up your mind about what to say to Shinobu-chan?" she asked him.

Keitaro remained silent for a moment, still staring at the majestic building. "Yea, I think so. I just don't know if I'll get a chance to talk to her with Naru-chan hanging around. As much as I need to talk to her I don't think I'll survive her walking in on our discussion." He tapped the bandage around his head.

"awww, poor baby! Does your head still hurt? Let me kiss it better." She said in a sookie voice as she reached around the back of his head and kissed him on the bandage. "There you go all better." She grinned at him.

Laughing he rested his hands on her hips. "Thanks, now if you can be around when Naru beats me to death I'll be just fine."

"Come on, she's not that bad." Kitsune stuck up for her friend despite her changing opinion of her.

"Kitsune. Instead of having breakfast with her family she decided to rush back here to make sure I didn't do anything perverted to Shinobu-chan. Even though it's pretty obvious that if I had planned to do anything to her it would have happened last night rather than today when we expected others to come back." He pointed out.

"mmm, good point." She nodded. "Well, how about this, I'll drag Naru out shopping with me to give you two some time to talk OK?" she offered.

Keitaro raised an eyebrow. "Shopping like the shopping we just done?"

Pressing her body against his she grinned. "Of course not silly. That's _our_ thing now. I'll only buy sexy lingerie and see-through panties when you're there to help me try them on." She purred.

Keitaro smiled. "oh, so that's what you brought is it?"

"Maybe." she grinned cheekily "If you're good you'll find out."

Chuckling he shifted his hands to wrap around her waist. "Well I'm honoured that the only person that you will be buying your sexy panties with is me."

"As you should be." She leaned up and pressed her lips against his, her tongue slipping into his mouth. As she broke the kiss Kitsune held her face close to his, her eyes closed, nose nestled into his cheek and her breath tickling his face. "mmmm, Shinobu-chan's a lucky girl."

"Kitsu-chan..." he murmured.

"It's fine Kei-kun. I just wanted to see what it would be like at least once." She gave him a quick peck on the lips before stepping away.

"Are you sure?" he reached up and stroked her cheek with his thumb. Kitsune stared at him with a small smile. As sad as it was, this was the closest thing she ever had to a boyfriend that cared for and loved her. And as much as wanted to, she couldn't betray Shinobu by pursuing a relationship with Keitaro.

Taking a hold of his hand she gave it a light kiss before saying. "Yea, I'm sure." She smiled at him. "Now come on, you've got a girl up there you need to have a talk with."

Returning her smile he nodded his head and stooped to pick up her bags when a weight settled on top of his back. Turning slightly he saw Kitsune grinning with her cheek pressed against his and legs wrapped around his waist. "What are you doing Kitsu-chan?"

"You're going to give me a piggy back ride up the stairs." She grinned.

"So I have to carry you _and_ your bags?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep. Don't forget, you still have to pay me back for making me buy my own ice-cream." She kissed his cheek. "Besides, this way I can talk dirty into your ear." Kitsune knew that the combined sensations of her breathing into his ear and her breasts pressed into his back brought about the desired effect when his ears turned bright red. "Now Mush!" she laughed as he set off up the stairs.

Much to her surprise, Keitaro was able to carry her up the full flight of stairs and in all honesty had expected him to stop halfway but he just kept going. Setting her down at the top of the steps he turned and was hugged by Kitsune. "That was fun Kei-kun, you have to let me ride you again." She leered at him and slowly ran her tongue over her lips before seductively biting her lower lip. "Well, I'm going to have a little chat with Shinobu-chan before I distract Naru so you make yourself scarce for a while."

Nodding his head Keitaro said. "Whatever you say Kitsu-chan. Do you want me to drop off your bags in your room?"

Kitsune grinned. "Uh-uh, I know exactly what you want to do. You want to check out what I brought don't you, you naughty boy? I told you the only way you're going to see them is if they are being modelled." She teased as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"And when will this fashion show happen?" he flirted back as he rested his hands on the small of her back and pulled her close to him.

"Whenever you want." She smiled and pulled him down into another kiss. "mmm," she sighed. "You have no idea how jealous I am of Shinobu-chan right now." Keitaro just smiled and ran one hand up and down her back while his other held her tightly to his body around her waist. Leaning up, Kitsune gave him what would probably be their last kiss together and was determined to make it a memorable one. Grinding her body against his, she slipped her tongue into his mouth and ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head and pulled him deeper into the kiss. Keitaro was by no means passive in this act, his tongue danced with Kitsune's, one hand came up to run her fingers through her silky hair while the other pulled her closer to him before sliding down to give her arse a firm squeeze making her gasp and moan into his mouth but she still didn't pull away from the kiss.

When they finally broke the kiss they kept their faces together, their noses rubbing against each other's, Kitsune's hands stayed interlaced with Keitaro's hair, Keitaro moved the hand in her hair down to her back while his other continued to cup her rear. "That was nice." Kitsune said breathily. "Take care of Shinobu-chan alright?"

"I will." He promised.

"I know." Her voice tinted with melancholy as she picked up her bags and started to walk towards the door.

"Wait a minute Kitsune." He called out as he grabbed her wrist. Kitsune turned to look at him with a curious expression. "Listen, you're a smart, beautiful, wonderful woman that any guy would kill just to have a chance to date you and if anyone says otherwise just tell me and I'll beat the crap out of them." Kitsune smiled as she looked into his eyes and knew that he believed every word he said. Shifting his hands so they rested on her hips he continued "And I know you'll find someone who'll love you as much as you deserve to be loved."

'_I already found him.'_ She thought briefly before giving him a small smile. "Thanks Kei-kun." she said. "I'll go and track down Shinobu-chan so we can have a little talk. Try to keep out of trouble until I can get Naru out of the house."

"I can't promise anything but I'll try." He returned her smile.

Accepting his answer with a smile she continued towards the door when Keitaro reached down and pinched her butt. Jumping in surprise she turned to see Keitaro grinning cheekily at her. "Cheer up. Look at it this way; you've got lots of stuff to tease me about now."

Kitsune stared at him before returning his grin. Wrapping her arms around his she said. "I'm gonna make you regret reminding me of that."

"I think I already do." He laughed.

"oh no, you have no idea what you just unleashed!" she snickered which actually made Keitaro worry. "Now be a gentleman and hold open the door for a gorgeous lady." She grinned at him.

* * *

Heading to the kitchen to find the blue haired chef, Kitsune found the young beauty doing what came natural to her, cleaning the room and making sure everything was in pristine condition. She was wearing the same pale blue sundress she had worn on her date which Kitsune thought made her look absolutely stunning. _'No wonder Kei-kun loves her.'_ Kitsune thought idly. The only thing out of the ordinary was that Shinobu was humming happily to herself and Kitsune guess the reason why she was in such a good mood. Putting her bags down, Kitsune silently sneaked up on the girl and hugged her around her neck. "Good morning Shinobu-chan." She smiled.

"Good morning Kitsune-sempai." Shinobu smiled brightly at her. "Did you just get back?"

"I got back a little while ago but dragged Kei-kun out shopping with me." She explained.

"Would you like me to make you something to eat? Some tea maybe?"

"No thanks sweetie, me and Kei-kun had some ice-cream a bit earlier." She kissed the top of Shinobu's head. "Did you enjoy your time with Kei-kun last night?"

"Y-yes thank you." She blushed. "We had fun."

"So I heard." She grinned. "Kei-kun told me all about what happened between the two of you."

Shinobu's whole body stiffened. "He did?"

"Uhuh, helping you with your homework, cuddling up on the couch to watch TV and then going to bed; sounds like a nice night in." She smiled.

Shinobu visibly relaxed when she heard this version of events. "Is that what Kei-kun told you?"

Kitsune didn't miss the informal term of address Shinobu used for the man in their life. "Yep, and there was no mention whatsoever of you inviting Kei-kun into the hot springs, confessing your love to him, throwing yourself at and kissing him before spending the rest of the night making out in his bed."

Shinobu froze up, her face bright red and mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as she struggled to come up with something to say. Pulling away from Kitsune she turned and stuttered out "N-No! I-I-It wasn't- w-w-we-" she was cut off when Kitsune hugged her to her chest and whispered

"I'm so proud of you Shinobu-chan." She ran her fingers through the short blue hair.

"K-Kitsune-sempai?" she looked up at her.

"I never expected you to be brave enough to do something like that." Kitsune smiled.

Not meeting her eye Shinobu murmured "It was because of what you said to me gave me confidence to do it."

"Is that so?" Kitsune smiled at the irony. "I hope you realise what a lucky girl you are to have someone like Kei-kun."

"He hasn't accepted yet." Shinobu pointed out.

"I know but how could he possible resist someone as sexy as you?" she grinned making the girls face burn red. "Listen, Kei-kun wants to have a talk with you so once we're done with our little chat I'll get Naru out of your hair so you two can talk in private."

"Thank you." Shinobu said gratefully.

"No problem sweetie. Now let's have a girly chat." She pulled Shinobu to the sofa in the living room. Hugging her around the waist Kitsune said. "Now I want you to tell me exactly what you and Kei-kun got up too last night."

Shinobu paused for a moment as she thought about how to start her story "After he helped me with my homework I invited him to join me in the springs. He let me get undressed and go into the hot springs first and when he came in he had a blindfold around his eyes so that he wouldn't see me naked by accident." Both girls smiled at this. Keitaro would rather break a leg then purposely violate their modesty. "I told him that it was alright and then I walked up to him and took off his blindfold."

"Did he like what he saw?" Kitsune leered at her.

"I-I think so." She smiled blushing. "H-he kept staring at me with his mouth open." She giggled happily.

"I bet he did!" Kitsune laughed. She was enjoying this. It had been so long since she had been able to have this kind of talk with another girl that she had forgotten how much fun it was to gossip about boys. "Any guy would be mesmerised if someone as beautiful as you walked up to them naked!"

"I-I wasn't naked!" Shinobu quickly corrected her. "I-I was wearing a towel."

"uhuh, and was you and your towel wet?" Kitsune grinned as she hesitantly nodded. "Then it was probably hugging you so tightly that it showed off all your curves, not to mention how short they are so you were either showing off a lot of cleavage or a lot of leg."

"A-A bit of both." She admitted bashfully which made Kitsune grin even more.

"Atta girl! What happened next?"

"W-Well after we got into the springs I asked Kei-kun to wash my hair."

Kitsune frowned. "Your hair?" she asked somewhat disappointed.

"I wanted to ask him to wash my back but I chickened out at the last minute. But it felt nice to have his fingers running through my hair."

"I'm sure it did." She smiled as she recalled her recent interaction with Keitaro where he ran his fingers through hers.

"While he was doing my hair we talked about his little sister."

"Whoa wait a minute. He has a sister?" Shinobu nodded. "How come he hasn't told us about her?"

"Because no one ever asked." She replied softly.

"oh." Kitsune said simply as she realised she new next to nothing about Keitaro before he arrived in their lives. "I guess we haven't, have we?" Shinobu shook her head. "So what else did you talk about?"

"He said that he was giving up on his promise girl but will still try and get into Tokyo U." Shinobu gently bit her lower lip in excitement.

"Really?" Kitsune raised an eyebrow. While she had a fairly good idea about what Keitaro was going to say to Shinobu this bit on information certainly boded well for the young girl.

Nodding her head Shinobu continued her tale "We then talked about his sister some more and then he said I was cute." she told Kitsune excitedly "I-I thought about what you told me and decided that this was the only chance I'd ever have to tell him how I feel and decided to go for it."

Kitsune grinned widely at the happy girl. _'This is more like it.'_ She thought. "So? What happened?"

"I think Kei-kun was embarrassed by what he said so he tried to leave the springs so I ran up to him, yelled 'I loved you', threw my arms around his neck and kissed him!" she giggled almost hysterically. Kitsunes eyes went wide. She was seriously impressed with Shinobu right now. She just couldn't picture the girl who was just blushing at the mere thought of Keitaro washing her hair pouncing on him and sticking her tongue down his throat.

"What was your first kiss like?" Kitsune asked eagerly. "Did you use your tongues?"

Nodding her head, Shinobu said "It was amazing!" She grinned with a bright blush. "His lips felt so soft and it felt so wonderful being pressed against his body while he ran his fingers up and down my back!"

"It does feel nice doesn't it?" Kitsune said dreamily before she could stop herself. She regretted it as soon as she realised she said aloud as Shinobu was giving her a worried look.

"W-when did you kiss Kei-kun?" she asked.

"Er, this morning when we went out shopping." She cringed as she saw that Shinobu was close to tears. "Shinobu-chan I want you to listen to me very carefully and not get upset OK?" she waited for the girl to nod before continuing. "Keitaro isn't the kind of guy who would see two girls at the same time, I'm the one who kissed him so if you are going to get angry or upset with someone be angry and upset with me for kissing him after I knew what happened between the two of you."

"If you knew what happened why did you do it?" Shinobu asked in a hurt voice that sent a pang to her heart.

"Because I could see how he felt about you and realised that this would be the only opportunity to kiss a man as wonderful as Keitaro. I think he was already decided about his answer to you and I just wanted to see what it would be like at least once too kiss someone I love before he was off limits forever." Kitsune explained quietly.

"Do you really love him?" she asked, worried about the appearance of a new rival for his love.

"Yes but you don't have to worry about it. As long as you and Keitaro are together I won't make a move on him. If it's you I don't mind stepping aside one more time."

"Why?"

Kitsune sighed "Because up until yesterday I was a terrible person to him. The stuff I did to him and put him through... I'm ashamed and disgusted with myself for doing that. Keitaro deserves someone better than me. Someone who has never doubted his pure intentions, someone who was able to see him for the wonderful man he is from the start." Reaching up Kitsune brushed the blue hair from Shinobu's eyes and cupped her face. "As far as I'm concerned you're the only girl that deserves to have his love and I promise I'll support the two of you in each and every way that I can."

Shinobu said nothing. She just stared into Kitsunes eyes and saw nothing but honesty "Will you try and kiss him again?"

"No, it was a onetime thing. I just wanted to know what it would feel like to be kissed by someone who cared about me as much as I do them. That might make me selfish but I think that you would do the same if you knew by the end of the day he would be out of your reach forever." Shinobu couldn't help but nod her agreement. "Can you forgive me for being so selfish?" Kitsune asked quietly.

Shinobu thought for a moment before smiling brightly at the elder woman. Reaching around her neck, Shinobu hugged Kitsune tightly. "I understand. I'd do exactly the same." She whispered into her ear.

Kitsune smiled and pulled her closer, nuzzling into the side of her face and whispered back "Thanks Shinobu-chan." She gently stroked her back. "If you ever hurt him I'm going to take him away from you." She warned.

"I know." Shinobu smiled. She would say the same thing in her position and mean it just as much.

Giving her cheek a kiss Kitsune pulled back but continued to stroke her soft blue hair. "Now where were we? Oh yes, we were talking about you throwing yourself at Kei-kun."

Shinobu blushed but remained smiling. "After we pulled apart I realised what I had done and tried to run away from him but he grabbed my arm so we slipped on the wet floor."

"This sounds like the Kei-kun we know and love." Kitsune laughed. "Let me guess, he ended up with his face in your boobs?"

"Not exactly no." She said shyly.

"Oh?" she grinned. "What _exactly_ did happen then?"

"Kei-kun spun us around so I landed on top of him with our faces close together." Her face turned a darker red. "And our towels fell off."

"They didn't!" Kitsune cried with laughter "What did you do after that?"

"I kissed him." She blushed with a smile.

Kitsune pulled the girl to her chest with a large grin on her face. "I'm so proud of you Shinobu-chan! A little while ago you would have fainted from embarrassment but now you're laying on top of him naked while kissing him!"

"We didn't know we were naked." Shinobu mumbled into Kitsune's breasts.

"And what did you do when you realised you had lost your towels?" she smiled as she stroked Shinobu's hair.

"We jumped into the springs." She said, almost dying of embarrassment as Kitsune roared with laughter. When she got control of herself Kitsune wiped the tears out of her eyes and asked "W-What happened next?"

"Kei-kun said that we needed to talk about what I just said and I agreed but all I was thinking about was that he kissed me back! S-so I thought about what you might do if you were me so I raised myself slightly so that he could see more of my breasts."

Kitsune leered at her. "Is that so? You know I usually charge people if they use my moves but since it's my cute little Shinobu-chan I'll let it go for now." She petted her head and privately thought _'I can't believe this is the same Shinobu that I met all those years ago. Hell even a few days ago she wasn't this bold. I have to ask her about what happened when we found her in Kei-kuns bed when all this is said and done.'_

"So what did you talk about?" Kitsune asked her.

"He wanted to know if I really felt that way and I asked if he could see me as more than a girlfriend and he said yes." She reported happily. "I then leapt on him and kissed him."

"I'm happy for you, Shinobu-chan." She hugged the beaming girl.

"That's not all that happened." Shinobu said as bashfully bit her lower lip.

"Oh? What else happened?" Kitsune asked as she rubbed her side, happy that the girl was opening up to her.

"After we kissed he held me for a while until I asked him to wash my back!" she said, her voice full of pride. Kitsune was astounded at how confident she had become just from the possibility of becoming Keitaros girlfriend. Hugging her tightly Kitsune tilted her head to rest on top of Shinobu's. "I bet that felt good."

Shinobu nodded her head enthusiastically and said. "It did, especially when he..." she trailed of in happy embarrassment.

"Especially when he what?" Kitsune pressed with a leer.

"When he was washing my sides he would brush against my breasts." She admitted with a glorious blush across her face.

Ginning Kitsune said "You lucky thing! I bet that was enjoyable!" she stroked her side.

"There was something more enjoyable that happened." Shinobu teased Kitsune.

"oh? This sounds interesting." Kitsune smiled, never one to pass up some juicy information she can tease Keitaro about later.

"When he finished washing my back I leaned back to kiss him and he brought his hand up to hold my breast!" she said happily.

"oho! Now we're talking! Kei-kun left this part of the story out!" she cackled. "Did you _repay_ the favour?"

"I-I gave him a massage." She nodded.

"Did you give him a happy ending?" she joked.

"What do you mean?" Shinobu asked confused.

"Never mind." Kitsune petted her head fondly. In some way Kitsune was relieved that she the innocent Shinobu was still there and this new bold personality hadn't completely taken over. "So what happened next?"

"We decided that it was time for bed so we headed back to the changing room. Once we dried off we put on robes and I took his clothes to be washed and I..." she trailed off.

"And you what?" Kitsune wasn't going to let her hide anything.

"When I came back to his room to spend the night, I was wearing his shirt." She blushed. Kitsune stared at the girl in utter amazement. Wrapping her arms around the younger girl she squeezed her tightly. "You are well and truly one of the most amazing girls I've ever met!"

"K-Kitsune-sempai?" she cried out not entirely sure what was happening.

"I can't believe what a sneaky little seductress you are! I never knew you were so clever!" Kitsune laughed, immensely proud of the girl.

"W-What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"Fu Fu Fu, a girl wearing his shirt and nothing else is one of the sexiest things a guy will ever see!" Kitsune explained joyously.

"B-But I was still wearing my panties." Shinobu confessed.

"That doesn't matter, all that matters is that Kei-kun saw you showing off your sexy legs! You're going to have him eating out of the palm of your hand!" Kitsune cheered.

"D-Do you really think so?" Shinobu asked.

"Of course I do! And if he doesn't then you can be my girlfriend OK?" Kitsune grinned as she leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"K-Kitsune-Sempai!" she cried as she blushed and tried to escape the older girls hold.

Kitsune just pouted and tickled Shinobu "What's with this 'Kitsune-sempai'? I'm your Nee-san now aren't I?"

"Y-Yes, Kitsune nee-san!" Shinobu laughed as Kitsune jabbed her fingers into Shinobu's ribs.

"Good girl." She hugged Shinobu from behind and kissed her cheek. "I hope you realise how lucky you are to have a chance with a guy like Kei-kun."

"I do." Shinobu agreed quietly.

"I know you do." Kitsune nuzzled into Shinobu's hair. "Right, I'll go drag Naru-chan down to the shops and give you and Kei-kun your privacy but I want to hear all about it when I get back OK?"

"Thank you Kitsune nee-san." Shinobu buried her face into Kitsunes breasts and hugged her tightly. "If it wasn't for you I don't think I would have been brave enough to confess to him."

Squeezing her tightly Kitsune stroked her hair. "That's OK," her smile turned to a lecherous grin "If you really wanted to thank me you could let kiss Kei-kun every now and again." Shinobu raised her head and frowned at her. "Alright alright, I was just joking." She reassured the girl. "Besides I'd much rather kiss a cutie like you!" Kitsune cupped her chin and kissed her lips.

"K-K-Kitsune Nee-San!" Shinobu stuttered as she flailed her arms around making the elder woman laugh.

"You have no idea how cute you look when your face gets all red like that!" she affectionately ruffled Shinobu's hair. "oh, before I forget I picked up a gift for you and Kei-kun. You know a kind of congratulations for getting together." She said as she stood up and moved towards the kitchen to retrieve the bags she had set down.

"But we don't know what he's decided." Shinobu pointed out.

"Fu Fu Fu, have a little faith in your Nee-san." Kitsune smiled as she leaned over the back of the sofa and handed a pink bag to Shinobu before hugging her neck. Shinobu opened the bag and curiously looked inside. Her eyes widening and face flushed she slammed the bag closed and thrust it into her lap, looking straight ahead as her mind processed what she had just seen. Grinning at her reaction Kitsune rubbed her cheek against hers. "So? What do you think? I'm sure that Kei-kun will love it!" she purred into Shinobu's ear. Removing her arms from around her neck Kitsune brought them down to cup Shinobu's small breasts though the girl didn't seem to notice in her near catatonic state. "I wasn't sure on the size since I haven't groped you in a while but if it doesn't fit then me, you and Kei-kun and get it exchanged." Kitsune playfully squeeze the small mounds. "Maybe you can even have Kei-kun pick something out for you." She snickered.

"I...I...I..." Kitsune leaned in closer to hear what the embarrassed young girl had to say. "I... I would like that." She said quietly as her blush deepened and she nervously bit her lower lip.

Kitsune blinked, not actually expecting the girl to accept her offer but quickly recovered from the surprise with a grin. "Great! When all this stuff is sorted out the three of us will go shopping and pick something sexy for you to wear!" she said, excited at the prospect of having some she can take to these kind of places. Immature Su didn't need to go to them yet though would probably enjoy trying to model the products that were sold there for Keitaro, misandrist Naru wouldn't see the point in buying those kinds of clothes and prudish Motoko would have fainted at some of the more risqué products they sell. Hugging her neck, Kitsune kissed her cheek and said "Good luck Shinobu-chan."

"Thanks Kitsune nee-san." She smiled.

"No problem sweetie." She stroke Shinobus hair. "I'll probably be able to keep Naru-chan busy for about an hour or so, so make the most of the time while you can."

"I will." She promised.

"Good girl." She smiled as released her hold on the girl and moved upstairs to drag Naru out of the dorm. Shinobu stayed on the sofa, occasionally peeking at her gift and blushing deeply every time she saw it.

"Kitsune I'm trying to study! Why do you have to have me come with you?" Naru moaned as she was led downstairs.

"Because Su-chan raided the kitchen before she left and Shinobu-chan needs ingredients to cook with." Kitsune lied. "And you can't expect a fragile girl like me to go to the shops all by myself without any protection."

"Then why don't you take Keitaro with you? He's probably not doing anything." Naru frowned.

"He's busy cleaning the hot springs for us so we're on shopping duty!" she explained. "Now stop complaining! The sooner we leave the soon we'll get back!" Kitsune ushered Naru out the door, giving Shinobu a wink as they walked out the door. Shinobu smiled after her and waited nervously for Keitaro to approach her and she didn't have to wait long.

"Hey Shino-chan, has Kitsune and Naru-chan gone out?" Keitaro asked as he walked down the stairs. Hearing his voice Shinobu quickly hid Kitsune's gift and turned to smile at him.

"Yes, they left a few minutes ago." She told him.

"OK, do you mind if we have a talk?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"O-of course we can Kei-kun." She smiled at him. "What do you want to talk about?"

"There's really only one thing that I want to know." He took her hand in his. "How long have you been in love with me?"

Shinobu was silent for a moment before saying "For as long as I can remember. Ever since you threw me that birthday party you've been nothing but the most wonderful person to me since then. Whenever I needed help you would put aside what you were doing and made sure that I was alright." she nervously bit her lip. "Every day you work so hard with a smile on your face and every day I feel like I love even more than the last and every time you smile at me my heart wells up with happiness." She finished, looking down at her lap in embarrassment.

"I see." He gave her hand a squeeze. Looking at her beautifully blushing face he smiled at her, his doubts banished, he was ready to give her his answer. Cupping her chin he made her look him in the eye. "Shino-chan, I would be honoured if you would allow me to be your boyfriend." He smiled as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Shinobu's eyes lit up and a bright smile graced her beautiful face. Leaping on top of him she was about to press her lips against his but he held her back. Giving him a confused look she asked "Is there something wrong?"

"N-not exactly. It's just there's something I have to tell you first." He told her.

"What is it?" she asked somewhat impatiently.

"It's about Kitsune. This morning when we went out shopping she told me tha-mrph!" he was cut off as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his, slipping her tongue into his mouth. Keitaro was momentarily distracted by the beauty pressed against him and it took him a while to build up the willpower needed to push her away. "Sh-Shino-chan please wait a minute, it's really important that you listen to me!"

"It's fine Kei-kun." She grinned at him "Kitsune nee-san told me about it and it's fine."

"Really?" he asked surprised at how well she was taking it.

"Yes!" she leaped at him again, pushing him onto his back and sealed her lips against his. This time Keitaro didn't push her away. Wrapping his arms around her small body he pulled her close to him, running his hands up and down her back. Breaking the kiss he cupped her chin and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Shino-chan there's something important that I have to tell you."

"It can wait." She murmured as she leaned back in to kiss him.

"mmm, I think it's something you would really want to hear." He smiled at her.

"What is it then?" she asked as she gave him a series of small pecks on his lips.

Brushing her hair out of her eyes he said "I love you Shinobu-chan."

This stopped Shinobu mid kiss as she stared into his smiling eyes. Welling up with tears, Shinobu replied. "I love you too Kei-kun." Wrapping her arms around his neck she sealed her lips against his. This time Keitaro had no reason to interrupt her. Closing his eyes, Keitaro moaned into her mouth, one hand running through her silky soft hair while the other stroked her back through the thin material of her dress, moving his hand up and down until it came to her firm behind where he gave her a gentle squeeze. Gasping into his mouth Shinobu continued to kiss him, loving the feeling of being pressed against him with his hands roaming over her body. Eventually breaking the kiss, Keitaro stared into her eyes and noticed how glowingly beautiful they were. "Love you Kei-kun." She repeated with the happiest smile he had ever seen.

"I love you too." He returned her smile before frowning. "What am I lying on?" he asked as he reached underneath his body and pulled out a pink bag. "What's this?"

Seeing the bag Shinobu's eyes went wide as she sat up so she straddled his lap and snatched the bag away from him "I-It's nothing!" she cried and held the bag tightly to her chest.

Keitaro narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "It doesn't seem like nothing." He said. "What's in the bag Shino-chan?" He questioned her as he reached for the bag but she held it out of his reach.

"I-I told you it's nothing!" she cried.

"That looks like one of the bags that Kitsune had." He sat up and tried to grab the bag. "Did she give you something?"

"O-Of course not!" Shinobu backed away from him, moving to the other end of the sofa.

"Come on, let me see what it is!" he lunged for the bag.

"No!" Shinobu move he bag further away.

The end result was Shinobu laying on her back, her head on the armrest and arm extended as she dropped the bag out of his reach while Keitaro lay on top of her his hands supporting his weight. Staring down at her Keitaro marvelled at how radiant she looked when she blushed. Abandoning his pursuit of the mystery bag he reached out and stroked her cheek "You're so beautiful Shino-chan." Shinobu's face flushed as she smiled. Reaching around his neck she leaned up and kissed him "mmm, you're trying to make me forget about the bag aren't you?" he grinned as he rubbed his nose against hers.

"Maybe." She giggled and kissed him again.

"I think it's working." He smiled as he placed his hands on her hips and gently rolled them so they were laying on their sides. "Are you ever going to show me what's in that bag?"

"Maybe later." She said bashfully while blushing.

Keitaro retuned her smile. "Kitsune was right." He said as he gently rubbed her hips.

"Right about what?" she asked.

"You look really cute when you blush." He grinned and pressed his lips against hers. With their tongues caressing each others, Keitaro's hands moved up and down her back until they came to cup her rear, making her gasp and moan as he gently squeezed her butt and softly stroked her through the thin fabric of her dress with his thumbs. Breaking the kiss, Shinobu smiled and nuzzled into neck, gently kissing his throat as she sighed contently. _'This is nice.'_ She thought happily.

"What do you think we should do?" he asked her, his hands still holding onto and occasionally squeezing her ass while he buried his nose in her hair.

"Kiss some more?" she suggested as she leaned up and kissed him again. Enjoying the kiss Keitaro pulled her closer, loving how good her warm body felt pressed against his while Shinobu pulled his head closer, her tongue exploring his mouth. Separating their lips but keeping their faces close together Keitaro smiled "As nice as that sounds, that wasn't what I was talking about." He gently rubbed her butt.

"Can it wait? We've only got about an hour until Naru-sempai comes home." She pointed out as she lightly kissed his lips. The truth was Shinobu was in heaven. Not even in her wildest dreams had she dared to imagine that she would be kissing her beloved Sempai while he caressed her body and groped her rear. And from what she felt pressing into her hip it was safe to say that he was enjoying her attention as much as she was enjoying his and so, she had every intention prolonging the sensations for as long as possible.

"That's what I want to talk about." He struggled to say since she kept interrupting him by pressing her lips against his and slipping her tongue into his mouth.

"Then talk." Shinobu said though she had no intention of stopping what she was doing.

Rolling over so that she was laying on top of him he said "How are we going to tell the others that we're a couple?" each word punctuated with a kiss from Shinobu. When she heard this Shinobu paused mid kiss with her lips pressed against his and tongue in his mouth.

Pulling back Shinobu sheepishly said "I hadn't thought of that. M-Maybe we can keep it a secret for a while? I-I'm sure Kitsune nee-san will be able to help us."

Keitaro was silent for a moment before saying "I-I we should tell Naru-chan by the end of today."

Shinobu's eyes were filled with worry "A-are you sure? N-Naru-sempai might..." she trailed off not wanting to think about what might happen to her beloved.

"I-I know, it's just that if we wait for too long then Motoko-chan will be back and I don't think I could survive the two of them coming after me at once."

"T-They're not that bad." Shinobu tried to defend them but didn't sound so sure of it herself.

"They are when it concerns you." He countered. "They know exactly how precious and pure you are, and they would see it as me taking advantage of your naivety and trying to corrupt you." He told her.

"But I'm not naive." She pouted which made her look incredibly cute.

"I know you're not Shino-chan, but that's how they would see it." He kissed her beautifully pouting lips "Remember how they acted when we came back from the hospital? It would be worse than that since we would be admitting that we are together. They would probably even think I was forcing you into this."

"But I'm the one that confessed to you!"

"Since when has the truth ever stopped them from attacking me?" he pointed out sadly.

"T-Then I'll stop them from hurting you." She declared.

"No!" Keitaro cried, startling Shinobu. "You must never put yourself in harm's way for me! I could never forgive myself if you got hurt trying to protect me."

Seeing the seriousness in his eyes Shinobu nodded her head. "If that's what you want."

"Do you promise?" he asked.

Nodding her head again she said "Yes I promise."

"Good." He leaned up and kissed her. "So we're agreed that we'll tell Naru-chan today?"

"Yes, Kei-kun." She nodded.

"OK." He smiled. Returning his smile Shinobu leaned in close to his face so their mouths were centimetres apart. "We've still got a while until Naru-sempai gets back. What do you think we should to fill the time?" she grinned.

Grinning back at her he said. "Whatever we come up with we'll have to keep an eye on the time."

"I suppose so. I don't think Naru-sempai will take it very well if she see's us in our current position."

Giving her a curious look, Keitaro peered past her beautiful face and realised for the first time where his hands were. Quickly removing them he cried. "I-I'm Sorry Shinobu-chan! I-I didn't mean to touch you there!"

"I-It's fine Kei-kun, I don't mind." She replied with a blush on her face.

"A-are you sure Shino-chan?" he asked not wanting to do anything inappropriate to her.

"As long as it's you it's OK." She murmured, her face red and eyes adverted. Keitaro remained motionless for a moment before slowly bringing his hands up to their original position and slowly rubbed her soft rear affectionately, sending a shiver throughout her body. "Is this OK Shino-chan?"

"Y-Yes, Kei-kun." She mewed as she nuzzled into his neck "That...That feels nice." she said as she enjoyed the newfound closeness but too embarrassed to meet his eyes. "I love you Kei-kun."

Removing one of his hands, he grasped her chin and made her look him in the eye. "Love you too Shino-chan." Keitaro told her as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

* * *

"We're back!" Kitsune yelled a warning to those inside the dorm. The new couple had been expecting their arrival and had stopped making out on the sofa, instead opting to sit side by side with Keitaro's arm around her waist and Shinobu's head resting on his shoulder so all they had to do was slide apart to avoid Naru's suspicion.

Turning Keitaro saw that both women were carrying bags full of groceries. Standing up Keitaro moved over to help them. "Here, let me take those for you." He offered.

"About time you made yourself useful." Kitsune smiled as she handed Keitaro her bags before stretching her arms above her head. "I'm not cut out for this manual labour stuff."

"What manual labour?" Naru grumbled "You made me carry the heavy bags and them you made me carry your bags up the stairs." She glared at her friend. "Most of which are filed with sake bottles I might add."

"Well this kind of thing is more suited to a tomboy like you rather than a delicate flower like myself." Kitsune told her which earned a scoff.

"Whatever you say Kitsune." Naru shook her head as she unloaded her bags onto Keitaro. "I'm gonna get back to studying so try not to bother me until lunch is ready." She said before wandering off back to her room.

"I'll go put this stuff away." Keitaro smiled his thanks to Kitsune before moving into the kitchen to put the supplies away.

Stalking over to Shinobu, Kitsune wrapped her arms around her neck. "He said yes then." Kitsune stated.

"H-How did you know?" she blushed happily.

"Fu Fu Fu, don't underestimate your Nee-san's intuition." The fox lady grinned and kissed Shinobu's blushing cheek. "It might also have something to do with the smile plastered on your face that's so big and bright that it can be seen from space." Kitsune nuzzled into her cheek which made Shinobu giggle.

"I'm Kei-kun's girlfriend!" she reported happily.

"Congratulations Shinobu-chan." Kitsune said as she hugged Shinobu tightly.

"Thank you Kitsune nee-san." Shinobu returned the hug, burying her face into Kitsune's breasts.

Kitsune smiled down at her and stroked her soft hair. She could practically feel the happiness radiating off the girl. "Right, I want to hear all about it OK? And you're not to leave a single detail out is that clear?" Shinobu nodded her head with a smile. "Great! We'll head into the hot springs, have some sake and you can tell me everything! The only thing left to do is to give Kei-kun his congratulatory kiss!" she released Shinobu and started towards the kitchen only to be grabbed by the chef.

"Y-You can't!" she cried.

Kitsune put on a playful pout and hugged the girl to her chest. "oooooh, don't be stingy!" Kitsune complained. "Not even a little one on the cheek? A hug?"

Shinobu was silent for a moment as Kitsune rubbed her breasts against her face before saying quietly "If it's just on the cheek... I don't mind if you kiss him or hug him from time to time."

Kitsune stopped mid rub and stared down at the young girl, not having expected to have been given permission. Lifting her head up by the chin she stared into Shinobu's pretty blue eyes "Are you sure that's OK with you?" she asked as she stroked her hair.

Shinobu wrapped her arms around Kitsune's waist and squeezed tightly while resting her head on Kitsunes collar bone. "If it wasn't for you, me and Kei-kun might not be together. This is the least I could do to thank you."

Smiling down at the girl and running her fingers through her soft hair "Don't worry about it. Kei-kun would have eventually seen you for the beautiful woman you are sooner or later. I just sped up the process a little."

"T-That's not all." Shinobu murmured. "T-Thank you for not pursuing Kei-kun. If...if I had to compete against you there would have been no way I could have won." She hugged Kitsune even tighter.

'_I'm not so sure about that Shinobu-chan.' _Kitsune thought sadly as she stroked her hair. "Oi, Oi. None of this. You're a beautiful girl who could have any man you wanted and I'm very proud of you for choosing such a wonderful guy like Kei-kun. Just because your breasts aren't as big as mine doesn't mean you aren't as every bit as gorgeous as I am!" Kitsune grinned and kissed her nose. "Now, I'm going to torment Kei-kun a bit and grab some sake for us, you want to meet me in the springs?"

"Sure Kitsune nee-san." Shinobu smiled as she leaned up and kissed Kitsune's cheek.

"Oi. What kind kiss is that for your beloved Nee-san? Give me a proper kiss!" Kitsune demanded as she held the sides of Shinobu's face and kissed her on the lips making Shinobu blush with her eyes wide and arms flailing around. Pulling back Kitsune gently pulled at her red cheeks and grinned "So Cute!" she cried before kissing Shinobu's nose and wandering off to tease Keitaro.

* * *

Entering the kitchen, Kitsune silently sneaked up behind Keitaro and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts into his back. "Hey Kei-kun. Shinobu-chan seems to be in a good mood. I wonder why that is?"

"I'm sure you could guess." He smiled as he turned around and hugged Kitsune around her waist.

"You said yes." She stated as she returned his smile. When he nodded Kitsune leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Congratulations Kei-kun." She whispered into his ear.

"Hey, I've got a girlfriend now. You can't kiss me anymore." He reminded her as he gave her waist a gentle squeeze.

"It's fine." She reassured him. "Shinobu-chan said it was alright to hug you and give you kisses on the cheek every now and again." She grinned as she reached down and pinched his butt. "She didn't specify which cheek though."

"K-Kitsu-chan!" he cried out while blushing making her giggle. Picking up a bottle of sake Kitsune grinned at him "Right, me and Shinobu-chan are going to the springs for a while so I can get every bit of juicy info on what the two of you go up too while I was gone so I can tease and blackmail you later." Still grinning Kitsune wrapped her arms around his neck again. "Now Kei-kun, just because your girlfriend is in the springs doesn't mean that you're allowed to peep at us, is that clear? If you want to see us naked you have to ask first." She purred as she pressed her body against his.

Chuckling, Keitaro rested his hands on her hips and said. "I'll bear that in mind, Kitsu-chan." As he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"See that you do." She leered at him before letting go and sauntering out the door towards the hotsprings leaving Keitaro shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

* * *

**In The Hot Springs**

"... and when it was getting close to when we expected you and Naru-sempai to come back Kei-kun just held me around the waist and I rested my head on his shoulder." Shinobu said happily with a blush which had nothing to do with the hot water or the small amount of sake that Kitsune had given her.

"See, I told you that he'd accept you as his girlfriend!" Kitsune cried as she hugged the girl and nuzzled into her blue hair. At some point during the story Kitsune had pulled Shinobu onto her lap, hugging her during the exciting parts, leering at her during the passionate parts and tickling her if Kitsune thought she was holding anything back.

Giggling girlishly Shinobu rested head on Kitsunes chest. "Yea, you were right." She said in a quiet happy voice.

"Of course I was. Your wonderful Nee-san is always right." She smiled at her "Did you ever show Kei-kun what was in that bag I gave you?"

Kitsune could feel Shinobus face blush against her chest. "N-no, not yet." She said quietly.

"Why not? If you don't know how to put it on I'll show you if you want." Kitsune offered.

"I-it's not that. I-it's just that we wouldn't have had enough time before the two of you got back."

"I guess you're right. Maybe next time." She commiserated the girl.

"Maybe..." Shinobu murmured "K-Kitsune nee-san? May I ask you a favour?"

The fox-lady grinned. "Don't worry about it, I'll be happy to help you out. Just call me when you and Kei-kun are ready and I'll be there to walk you through it step by step." Her grin turned into a leer. "I'll even demonstrate a few of the more advanced _techniques_ on Kei-kun if you want."

When she realised what Kitsune was talking about Shinobu blushed brightly and stammered a denial. "T-That isn't what I am talking about!"

"Oho? It isn't? Well the offer still stands if you ever want to take me up on it." She grinned at Shinobu's cute blush. "So what was it that you wanted to ask?"

"Kei-kun wants us to tell Naru-sempai that we're a couple by the end of the day. I-I was hoping that you'd have some advice for us." She asked quietly.

"Why by the end of the day? If it's about privacy then I know one or two classy love hotels that are affordable." She smiled as she stroked Shinobu's hair.

"I-it's not that." Shinobu blushed. "Kei-kun is worried about having to deal with both Naru-sempai and Motoko-sempai finding out at the same time and wants to do it one at a time." Shinobu explained.

"mmm, I guess that makes sense." Kitsune agreed. "As for Naru-chan... I really don't know what to tell you. It's fairly obvious how she will react but apart from having an escape route planned out I can't really offer any suggestions."

"I see." Shinobu replied, her voice heavy with concern. "Thanks anyway."

Squeezing her tightly Kitsune gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "Hey don't act so worried. You know Kei-kun is indestructible. I doubt Naru-chan will be able to do any permanent damage."

"Yea..." Shinobu said doubtfully.

"Oi, Oi, none of this now. Look at it this way. If he does get hurt you can nurse him back to health. We'll even get you a sexy nurse uniform that shows off your gorgeous legs that Kei-kun will love!" Kitsune gently rubbed the girl's leg, hoping to reassure her.

Smiling slightly Shinobu said "Thank you Kitsune nee-san." She wrapped her arms around Kitsunes neck and lightly kissed her on the lips, knowing that was the only kind of kiss she would accept.

"No problem sweetie." She returned her smiled and held her tightly against her chest. "How about we go see if that boyfriend of yours has started to make us some lunch?" nodding her head Shinobu stood up and made her way to the changing room. Watching her walk Kitsune sighed "No wonder Kei-kun wanted you to be his girlfriend. If he had already seen you looking like that I would never have stood a chance if I went after him."

Shinobu blushed deeply and held the towel closer to her body which only helped to emphasised Kitsune's point "T-that's not true. Y-you are far more beautiful than me."

Standing up Kitsune hugged Shinobu from behind "Oi, Oi, don't say silly things like that. You are just as beautiful as me. In fact," Kitsune grinned. "Seeing how sexy you look I think I'll steal _you_ away from Kei-kun!" she pulled off Shinobu's towel and groped her breasts

"No! Stop it, let go of me Kitsune nee-san!" Shinobu cried as she tried to get away but to no avail.

"Never!" Kitsune cackled as Shinobu continued to wail.

* * *

Entering the kitchen together, Kitsune and Shinobu saw Keitaro had already started to make lunch. "It's about time you started to pull your weight around here." Kitsune joked.

"Well not all of us can be hard workers like you Kitsune. Us mortals need our rest every now and again." He smiled over his shoulder at them.

"I know," Kitsune sighed theatrically and leant against the counter while Shinobu started to help her boyfriend. "It's hard to be a goddess sometimes." She grinned.

"Well maybe her divine holiness can help us by setting the table?" he returned her smile.

"Of course. A goddess always answers the prayers of her worshipers." She kissed Keitaro and Shinobu on the cheek before moving to the dining. Finding themselves alone Keitaro smiled at Shinobu.

"Hey Shino-chan."

"Hey Kei-kun." She returned his smile and leaned up to kiss him but just before their lips met Kitsune called out "Hey you two! No lovie dovie stuff around the food. It's not hygienic!"

Pausing, they stared at each other before pulling away with a smile. "Did you enjoy your bath Shino-chan?"

"Yes thank you Kei-kun. P-perhaps we can bathe together tonight?" She asked with a blush.

"I-I'd like that Shino-chan." He replied, blushing just as much. "L-let's see how things go with Naru-chan and we'll take it from there."

"S-sure Kei-kun." She said in a worried tone of voice.

Abandoning the food for the moment, Keitaro stepped behind the young woman and wrapped his arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. "It'll be fine Shino-chan. You don't need to worry about me."

"Yes I do. I don't want you to be hurt because of me." She turned around and buried her face into his chest.

"It'll be worth it if it means I can be with you." He stroked her hair before cupping her chin and lifting her face. "I love you Shinobu-chan." He didn't give her a chance to respond as he pressed their lips together.

"Hey, I thought I said no lovie dovie stuff near the food." Kitsune complained with a smile as she entered the kitchen.

Pulling a part Keitaro grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that Kitsu-chan."

"It's fine Kei-kun." She replied as she wrapped her arms around Shinobu's neck and hugged her tightly. "If I was in your shoes I wouldn't be able to resist kissing her either." Kitsune nuzzled into her soft blue hair. "So are you going to tell Naru-chan soon?"

"I think it would be best to do it as soon as possible." Keitaro replied. "If we do it right after lunch the roads should be clear enough for the ambulance to get here quickly." He gave them a weak smile before returning his attention to preparing the food.

The two women stared at him for a moment before Kitsune whispered into Shinobu's ear. "Shinobu-chan may I give him one last kiss Naru gets her hands on him?"

Shinobu was silent for a minute before nodding her head. In truth, she had been about to do the same thing. "Just this once. Then it's just on the cheek from then on."

"Thanks Shinobu-chan." Kitsune gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before moving to her real target. "Hey, Kei-kun!" she called out.

Turning all he managed to say was "Yes Kitsu-chan- mrph!" before Kitsune grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss, grinding her body against his. Keitaro's eyes went wide and tried to push her away but stopped when he saw his girlfriend smiling at him. Taking that as permission, Keitaro rested his hands on her hips and pulled her as close as possible to his body before one hand slipped under her shirt, gently stroking her back and placing featherlike touches along her spine making her moan and shudder while his other held her tightly around her waist.

Breaking the kiss Kitsune rested her head on his collar bone. "I told you before we can't do that anymore now that I have a girlfriend." He said as he still had on hand up her shirt and the other holding her close to him.

"It's fine. I had permission to kiss a condemned man before he met his doom." She smiled slightly as she nuzzled into his chest.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He ran his fingers up and down her back before looking at his girlfriend. "Are you really OK with this Shino-chan?"

"Only if you do the same to me." She rushed forward and Kitsune was only just able to slip out of his hold in time for Shinobu to take her place. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pressed her lips against his and held her body close to Keitaros. Holding onto her hips, Keitaro returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm as his girlfriend was. Removing one hand, he slowly traced his fingers up her spine over the thin material of her dress until they ran through her short blue hair while the other slowly slid down to gently rub her rear. Breaking the kiss, Shinobu held their faces together and whispered "I love you Kei-kun."

"I love you too Shino-chan." He whispered back to her as he rubbed his nose against hers.

"Oi, I'm gonna get jealous if you two keep this up." Kitsune complained as she hugged Shinobu around the waist.

"Sorry Kitsu-chan." Keitaro apologised while scratching the back of his head

"You should be. How do you expect me to feel when I see you making out with someone as sexy as Shinobu-chan here and you don't let me kiss her?" Kitsune pouted as she started to kiss Shinobu's shoulder, up her neck and then along her cheek bone.

"S-Stop it Kitsune nee-san!" Shinobu cried and tried to wiggle away.

"Don't worry, I don't mind sharing you with Kei-kun!" Kitsune grinned as she continued towards Shinobu's lips. Just before she kissed Shinobu on the lips, Keitaro pulled his girlfriend close to him which allowed Shinobu to hug his waist for protection. "Sorry Kitsu-chan, but Shino-chan's all mine." He smiled as he stroked her blue hair with one hand and stroked her back with the other.

"ooo, you two are no fun!" she pouted before hugging Keitaro, sandwiching Shinobu between the two of them. "I'm happy the two of you got together." She whispered as she rested her head under his chin.

"Thanks Kitsu-chan. For everything." He whispered back as he hugged onto Shinobu with his left hand and Kitsune with his right. Kissing her forehead, he pulled away from the two girls and smiled "You guys ready for lunch?"

"You sure you don't want to deal with Naru-chan before lunch? She might not hit you so hard if she's weak from hunger." Kitsune suggested.

"Maybe, but even a guy on death row gets a last meal gets a last meal before they die." He weakly joked.

"Don't talk like that." Shinobu frowned, not liking this type of talk about her boyfriend.

"We're just kidding Shino-chan." He petted her hair and hugged her close to his body. Kissing Shinobu's forehead he looked at their friend. "Can you get Naru-chan for us while we serve lunch?"

"Sure Kei-kun, no problem. I'm sure everything will work out." She gave Shinobu a quick hug before going off to find Naru.

"Come on Shino-chan, let's get the food to the table." He gave her waist a squeeze.

"Sure. Love you Kei-kun."

"Love you too Shino-chan." He leaned down and kissed her lips.

* * *

**After Lunch in Dining Room**

"That tasted great Shinobu-chan. Even better than it usually does." Naru complemented the housewife of Hinata Sou.

"It was Sempai who did most of it." She admitted.

Dismissing the comment Naru said "Regardless, you did a good job." Stretching her arms over her head she continued "Well, I have to get back to studying."

"W-wait a minute Naru-chan we have something we need to speak to you about." Keitaro stuttered out.

"Can it wait? I've got some stuff I need to catch up on." She said.

"It's really important. We really need to talk to you." Keitaro insisted.

Naru stared at him "Who's 'we'?" she asked suspiciously.

"M-me and Sempai." Shinobu answered.

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Why don't we go into the living room?" Kitsune suggested, wanting to move the volatile girl away from sharp implements.

"If we must." She said as she stared at all of them suspiciously before moving to the living room with the others following. In the living room Naru sat on the sofa, Keitaro and Shinobu standing in front of her while Kitsune sat on a chair between the two parties hoping to intercept Naru if she had to. "So what's this about?"

"W-well, we wanted to tell you that... that me and Shinobu-chan are a couple now." Keitaro said, taking Shinobu's hand in his, deciding to just come out with it rather than drag it out.

Naru just stared at them, perfectly still and not making a sound. The only movement she made were her eyes darting left and right between the new couple before resting on Kitsune. "As far as your jokes go Kitsune this is one of the most unbelievable. If you're going to do something like this at least put some effort into it, though getting Shinobu-chan to play along is impressive." She stood up and started to walk away "Please don't bother me with pranks when I've got stuff to do. And if you've got time to pull pranks with Kitsune, you should use that time to study more Keitaro-san." She scolded her manager.

"This isn't a joke Naru-chan." Keitaro said stopping Naru in her tracks. "We love each other and we're boyfriend and girlfriend."

Slowly turning she fixed her stare on Keitaro "You can't be serious."

"We are serious Naru-chan." Keitaro replied as he squeezed Shinobu's hand.

Naru's mouth opened and closed as she processed this information. Turning to the chef she asked "Sh-Shinobu-chan..."

"I-It's true Naru-sempai. We're together now." She held tightly onto Keitaro's arm.

"W-Why would you want to date a pervert like him!" she cried out horrified.

"H-He's not a pervert. A-and I want to date him because I love him." She said with a tremble in her voice.

"Of course he's a pervert! God knows how many times he's peeped on us in the springs or walking in on us changing!" Naru argued.

"Those were all accidents Naru-chan. He didn't do those things on purpose." Kitsune interjected.

"You knew about this Kitsune?" she yelled at her friend who nodded. "Then why didn't you tell me!"

"For one thing they only became a couple about two hours ago." Kitsune explained. "And for another it's their business not yours and not mine. It was up to them when to tell us."

"But he's taking advantage of her!"

"No he's not. Shinobu-chan's sixteen now and she's old enough to make her own decisions."

Naru shook her head in disbelief. "When... When did he start coming onto you?" Naru demanded of Shinobu.

"H-he didn't. I-I confessed to him last night and he accepted this morning." Shinobu answered.

Naru narrowed her eyes at Keitaro "Last night? When the two of you were all alone?"

"Naru-san, I didn't do anything to-" Keitaro started.

"Shut up you pervert! I knew letting up stay here was a bad idea!" she snarled "What the hell did you do to her to get her to lie like this? I bet this all started on that so called 'date' of yours, didn't it? I bet that whole story about ending up it hospital was a lie wasn't it? You just made up that excuse when you were really molesting her weren't you? And what's worse is that you've got her convinced she's in love with you!" Naru screamed at him.

"I am in love with him!" Shinobu yelled back with tears in her eyes but to Naru all that was, was more proof that he had corrupted the young girl.

"I never thought that you would actually stoop so low as to do something like. I never thought you would be sick enough to rape Shinobu-chan." She said in a deadly whisper.

Keitaro's body stiffened at the accusation and the other girls leapt to his defence.

"Keitaro-kun would never do that!" Shinobu cried.

"Naru-chan, you're going too far!" Kitsune scowled at her.

"Shut up!" Naru yelled at them. "You don't know what you're talking about Shinobu-chan, he's corrupted your mind so much that you actually believe you're in love with him and you, Kitsune, should be ashamed of yourself for approving of this... this... this disgusting crime that he's committed!" turning her glare onto Keitaro and growled. "As for you... I might be too late to stop you from molesting Shinobu-chan but I can still stop you from doing any more harm!" she yelled as she charged at Keitaro.

"Naru Stop!" Kitsune yelled as she tried to get in between them but was knocked out of the way by the rampaging Naru.

Seeing the angry redhead storming towards them with her arm drawn back, Keitaro thought _'Shit!'_ and pushed Shinobu out of the way in time to save her from Naru's fist which collided with his face, smashing his glasses and sending him flying back into a wall. Stumbling forward, he was met with a tackle from Naru knocking him onto his back. She straddled his hips and slammed her fists into his face, his still bandaged head rebounding off the floor, his lip split open and his nose bloodied.

Kitsune watched on in horror at Naru's vicious attack, momentarily too stunned to do anything. Tearing her eyes away from the brutal scene she turned to look at Shinobu. The young girl was on the floor where Keitaro had knocked her over, trembling at the sight of her beloved being assaulted in front of her with tears streaming down her face. Her attention was brought back to the violent scene when Naru started screaming "Bastard!" over and over again every time she hit him. No longer able to just sit back and watch she shakily got to her feet and tried to pull Naru off her manager.

"Naru stop it! You're going to kill him!" she cried as she grabbed Naru under her armpits but was knocked away by Naru's elbow slamming into her chest, throwing her next to Shinobu.

"Get The Hell Off Me!" she screamed at Kitsune before resuming her attack. Kitsune was shaking now. She had no idea how far Naru was going to go and that scared her more than anything else. Clutching her chest where she was hit and grimacing in pain she turned to Shinobu who still hadn't moved. "Sh-Shinobu-chan, I have to go get Haruka before it's too late but don't try and stop her alright? There's nothing you can do so just wait for me and Haruka alright?" she cried but Shinobu didn't answer her, she just kept staring at her boyfriend being pummelled. Unable to wait for a response, Kitsune took her catatonia for a yes and rushed out the door as fast as she could.

Shinobu just sat there watching Keitaro getting beaten unable to move no matter how much she willed her body to. With her whole body shaking Kitsune's words circled around Shinobu's head _'T-There's nothing I can do.'_ She thought as tremors racked her body. _'K-Kei-kun is getting hurt and there's nothing I can do! I-I can't even move my body. I-It's like what happened three days ago, I-I couldn't move and... and Kei-kun stopped him from hurting me.'_ He mind flooded with memories of what happened but a few days prior. With no regard for his own safety he charged in to protect Shinobu no matter what the cost and he did the same the next day and ended up in hospital all the while she was too paralysed with fear to even run for her life.

Something broke inside of Shinobu. The shaking stopped and her hands balled up into fists. Her beloved had risked his own life to save her from harm and there was no way that she was just going to watch him be beaten to death. Shakily getting to her feet Shinobu yelled "Stop it Naru!" as she dove at the girl and tried to pull her off Keitaro.

"I Said Get Off Me!" Naru yelled and jerked her arm back hitting Shinobu in the eye with her elbow, throwing her backwards to land on the hard wooden floor with a loud thump and a cry that was cut short as she fell unconscious. Naru never even noticed this as she followed through with the punch which was caught in the palm of Keitaro's left hand. "What The He- omph!" was all she managed to say before Keitaro thrust his right palm into her stomach sending her flying off him onto the floor next to the sofa.

Curling into a fatal position and clutching her stomach Naru cried out in pain at the sudden attack. Through the tears that gathered in her eyes she saw Keitaro crawling towards Shinobu, the blood flowing from his mouth and nose leaving a trail as he went.

Each movement was painful to Keitaro and his already blurred vision was becoming more unclear as he went but still he wouldn't stop, determined to check on the woman he loved. So concerned with his task, he didn't hear his aunt call out his name as she saw him on his hands and knees next to an unconscious Shinobu. Looking down at her beautiful face he saw her eye already swollen and bruised as well as the small trickle of blood escaping her nose where Naru's elbow had clipped it. Reaching out a shaking hand he gently stroked her cheek "Shinobu-chan..." he murmured before coughing violently, his blood spraying from his mouth and collapsing next to Shinobu.

The last thing Keitaro saw before his narrowing eyes closed completely was Shinobu's beautiful face and the last thing he heard was his aunt screaming his name before he fell unconscious.

* * *

Slowly opening his eyes and letting out a painful groan he saw a familiar room but couldn't quite place where he had seen the pale white wall before though it could have something to do with the fact everything beyond his bed was a blur without his glasses on. Turning his head in spite of the pain that shot through him, Keitaro smiled when he saw the familiar blue hair of his girlfriend. Shinobu had clasped her hands around his and was using them as a pillow so her face was obscured by her hair.

Gently extracting his hand from out under her, Keitaro gently stroked her blue hair enjoying the feel of her soft locks. Shinobu moaned slightly and tiled her head to nuzzle into his hand which made her hair fall out of the way. Seeing the dark bruise around her eye Keitaro sighed sadly as he gently stroked her cheek. _'Silly girl.'_ He thought but was relieved to see that she wasn't too badly hurt.

Twitching slightly as her cheek was tickled Shinobu slowly opened her eyes and was met with Keitaro's smiling face. "Kei-kun..." she murmured.

"You broke your promise." He said as he gently stroked the large bruise.

"Kei-kun!" she cried as she leapt onto the bed and into his arms.

"Omph! easy Shino-chan, I'm still a little sore." He stroked her back.

"Kei-kun are you alright!" she asked as she pulled back to look at his bruised and bandaged face. Both eyes had large bruises around them making him look like a raccoon, his lips cut where he was punched and bandages wrapped around his forehead and around his nose. Despite all this he was still smiling at her.

"You know I'm indestructible Shino-chan. You don't need to worry about me. I should be asking you if you're alright." He brought his hand up stroke her cheek.

Blushing slightly she said "I'm fine Kei-kun, it looks worse than it is."

"This is why I made you promise not to put yourself in harm's way." He gently scolded her.

"Sorry," she murmured. "I just couldn't sit back and watch you get hurt."

"I know Shino-chan and that's why I love you." He stroked the unmarked side of her face and leaned in to kiss her.

"Love you too, Kei-kun." she leaned in to meet his lips. Before their lips touched a loud booming voice yelled out

"What The Hell Are You Doing To My Daughter?"

Pulling away from each other Keitaro was in time to see a fist flying towards him. Hitting him in the nose, Keitaro was thrown out of the bed onto the floor. "Kei-Kun!" Shinobu yelled and leapt off the bed. Before she could reach him a strong hand grabbed her arm. Looking up she saw her angry father towering over her with her mother standing in by the door with a worried look on her face. "Dad, what are you doing?" she yelled.

"What am I doing? I find out that my daughter's in hospital and I walk in on her dorms manager taking advantage of her! What do you think I'm doing? I knew leaving you in that dorm was a bad idea! Now you're coming with us, you're going to live with me or your mother and we'll send for you stuff later." He started to pull Shinobu to the door but Shinobu yanked her arm away and yelled.

"NO!"

Shinobu's parents took a shocked step backwards as they stared at their red faced daughter. Their never realised that their daughter could yell that loudly. "Sh-Shinobu-chan..." her father started.

"SHUT UP! She screeched. "WHY DID YOU HIT HIM?"

"B-Because h-he..." he trailed off, not really knowing how to deal with this new side to his daughter.

"HE'S MY BOYFRIEND AND HE'S IN HERE BECAUSE OF ME AND THEN YOU PUNCH HIM!" she yelled at him with tears in her eyes.

"I-I thought-"

SHUT UP!" she cried as tears started to fall. "GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" she screamed as she picked up anything that came to hand and threw it at her father.

"S-Stop that Shinobu-chan!" her father cried as brought his arm up to fend off the projectiles being targeted at him

"GET OUT!" she screamed again.

"What the hell is going on here?" the doctor that treated Keitaro on his last visit entered the room with the same nurse following.

"He Just Assaulted My Boyfriend!" she thrust an accusing finger at her father before moving to the side of the bed to help Keitaro.

"I think it would be best if you left right now." The doctor glared at the parents while the nurse moved to help Shinobu pick up her boyfriend.

Shinobu's father opened and shut his mouth before he narrowed his eyes at the woman. "She is our daughter and as her parents we have a right to see her if she's in hospital!"

The doctor matched his glare. "First of all she was discharged an hour after she was admitted so she is no longer a patient. She is just visiting one so you have no reason to be here. And second, even if she was still a patient it does not give you the right to assault another patient. Now, you can either leave right now or I can call for security and they will get the police involved."

Before he could argue, Shinobu's mother grabbed her ex husbands arm and dragged him to the door. "Stop this at once, all that's going to happen is that you're going to end up in jail!" she scolded him as she pushed him out the door before turning to her daughter. "We'll talk to you later Shinobu-chan when we've all calmed down." Shinobu didn't answer as she and the nurse were lifting Keitaro up and put him back on the bed.

Once the girl's parents left the room the doctor moved to check on Keitaro. "Well Urashima-san, you certainly are adept at making friends aren't you?" she quipped as she shined her penlight into his eyes checking their responsiveness.

"Yea, everyone loves me." He grumbled as he squinted at the light.

"Well at least one person does." She smiled at Shinobu who lay in the bed next to him and snuggled into his side. "Your, *ahem*, 'friend' here certainly does." She grinned at them.

Keitaro let out a small laugh as he wrapped an arm around Shinobu's waist "I'm sure that you noticed we're not just friends anymore."

"Really?" she said sarcastically "You know now that you mention it, it seems obvious, what with her refusing to leave your side for the three days that you were unconscious." She said dryly.

Grinning he leaned over to kiss her head "Yea well, she's - wait did you say three days?" he asked shocked.

"More or less." The doctor nodded her head as she checked to make sure his redone stitches hadn't been damaged. "You took quite a beating. Care to share?"

"One of our... friends wasn't too pleased with the idea of me and Shino-chan here being a couple." Keitaro said uncomfortably.

"I see, and did they do that to you?" she asked Shinobu, gesturing to her black eye.

"When I tried to pull her off of Kei-kun her elbow hit me in the eye." Shinobu explained.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Her? You got beaten up by a girl?"

"If you knew even half the women in my life you wouldn't be surprised." He said with a weary smile.

"mmm, I'll have to take your word for that." She replied as she finished checking him over. "Well you don't seem to be any worse for wear but I'll give you a more thorough check over when I've finished making my rounds."

"Do you think I'll be able to go home today?" he asked.

"To be honest I have no idea. When most people take a beating severe enough to put them in a coma they are usually unconscious for more than a week and even then need to spend a while in hospital to recover but with your freaky healing ability I have no idea what condition your head is in." She lightly flicked his forehead. "So we need to run a few more tests and probably get your head scanned to make sure there's no lasting damage and we'll go on from there."

"I see." Keitaro said somewhat despondently.

"Hey don't worry about. I'm sure with your weird body you'll be fine. And if you do need to stay a while at least you can look forward to a sponge bath done by one of our cute nurses." She grinned at him.

Keitaro let out a small laugh. "Thanks but I think can wash myself."

"Is that so? Well there's going to be a lot of disappointed nurses around here." She sighed.

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"Well, after Yuki-chan here gave you your first one she apparently had some interesting things to report to the other nurses if the giggling was anything to go by." She grinned as she gestured to now blushing nurse next to her. "After that all the nurses seemed very eager about giving you a sponge bath. I think you broke the record for the number of sponge baths in one visit to the hospital and we've got some coma patients that have been with us for more than six years. I wonder what could have made all the nurses want to give you a sponge bath?" she said as she thoughtfully tapped her chin and struggled to keep a straight face as she looked at the three blushing people in the room. Opening her mouth to continue the entertainment Yuki intervened.

"Come along now Sensei, you've got rounds to finish!" she hurriedly pushed the doctor out the door. "Let's give the happy couple some privacy!" Leaving the blushing couple by themselves the red faced nurse bowed to them before leaving the room.

Still blushing Keitaro laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head out of habit but grimaced slightly as his hand brushed against his stitches. "Are you alright Kei-kun?" Shinobu asked concerned.

"Yea, just a bit sore. Nothing to worry about." He reassured her.

"They had to redo your stitches after she... after they came undone." She informed him quietly.

"I see." He replied "What about you? Are you alright?"

Shinobu gave him a small smile. "I'm fine, just a black eye. The doctors said that it will fade soon."

Hugging her tightly, he kissed her forehead. "I'm glad Shino-chan." He gently stroked her hip. "You shouldn't have done that Shino-chan."

Shinobu rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck. "I couldn't just sit back and let her keep hurting you."

"I know." He squeezed her waist. "Thanks for trying." He nuzzled into her hair. "I guess I'll have to thank Aunty for saving me."

Shinobu looked up curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well she's the one that dragged Naru off me wasn't she?"

"You don't remember?" she asked.

Keitaro frowned. "Not really. I remember Kitsune rushing out the door to get Haruka and I remember Naru hitting you but after that... after that I remember seeing you unconscious and Haruka calling my name but that's it. Why? Isn't that what happened?"

Shinobu was silent for a moment. From what Haruka had told her Keitaro had slammed his palm into Naru's stomach knocking her back and then crawled over to her before collapsing. Not sure of the whole story she decided to leave the explanation up to someone who was conscious at the time. "I'm not sure, Kei-kun. I wasn't awake." She answered.

"mmm, I guess it doesn't matter." He replied. "But what does matter is you and your dad." Shinobu bristled at the mention of her father.

"He shouldn't have hit you." she frowned.

"Shino-chan, it's fine. I understand why he did it. I would have done the same thing if I thought someone was taking advantage of my daughter. But what I don't want is to be the reason why you and your family fall out." He stroked her hair. "Promise me that you'll talk with your parents and make up with them?"

She remained silent for a moment before nodding her head. "I promise."

Smiling he hugged her tightly, stroking her hip he noticed that she was still wearing the blue dress he had seen her in on the day of the incident and judging by the few drops of blood that stained it, she hadn't had a chance to change let alone wash her dress. Looking at her he asked "Shino-chan, have you really been by my bed the whole time?"

"Of course I did. I couldn't go home and leave you while you were still unconscious." She said while blushing.

Cupping her chin, he lifted up her face so that she was looking at him in the eye. "I know Shino-chan and that's one of the reasons why I love you." He smiled as he leaned down and kissed her. Her eyes went wide before relaxing into the kiss, her hand coming up to wrap around his neck. The two lovers never noticed the pale skinned, dark haired girl running away from his room with tears running from her eyes.

* * *

Running out of the hospital the girl slumped against a wall and slid down until she was sitting down on the ground. Her whole body shook as she wrapped her arms around her knees and hid her face, weeping at the fact that all her hopes and dreams were now shattered. She didn't even look up when someone knelt next to her.

"Kanako-chan?"

Raising her head she saw Haruka looking at her with concern in her eyes. "A-Aunty..." Kanako sobbed.

"Kanako-chan what's wrong?" she asked fearing the worst for her nephew.

"A-Aunty... O-Onii-Sama... Onii-Sama... a-and she..." Kanako bawled unable to even voice what she had just seen. Haruka sighed deeply and pulled the girl into a hug, letting her niece cry onto her shoulder. She didn't expect the girl to take the fact that her brother was dating another girl well but she didn't think she would take it this badly. Though if what Kitsune had reported was true then Kanako had most likely walked in on them kissing which was probably quite a shock for the girl.

Gently rubbing her back, Haruka soothed the girl as she allowed Kanako to cry herself out. When she ran out of tears but continued to shudder Haruka said "It's OK, Kanako-chan."

"O-Onii-sama... Onii-sama... h-how long has Onii-sama had..." she couldn't bring herself say it.

"About an hour or so before he was hospitalised. That's the reason why he was beaten up." She explained.

"B-Because of her?" Kanako asked as she looked up at her aunt.

Haruka balled up her fist and lightly hit her niece on the head. "No, because of their relationship. One of the girls thought that he was taking advantage of her and decided that she should do something to 'protect' her."

"I see..." Kanako murmured "D-Does he love her?" she asked quietly.

"I'm afraid so." She gently rubbed Kanako's head.

"What... what is she like?" Kanako asked.

"Why don't you go up and find out?" she smiled at the girl.

"I... I can't." She responded quietly.

"So are you going to avoid your brother until he's single again?" Kanako looked uncomfortable but remained silent. "He loves you, you know?"

"But not in the same way that I love him." Kanako murmured.

"No, but he loves you none the less. And it would really hurt him if he never saw his precious sister again. Would _you_ really be alright with never seeing Kei-kun again?" Kanako thought for a minute before shaking her head. "So how about you go up there and see your brother? I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"D-Does she love him?" Kanako ignored her aunt's question.

"She's probably the only person who can come close to loving him as much as you do." She gently brushed the single antennae of dark hair out of her pretty face.

"Will she look after him?" Kanako sniffed.

"Yea, she will. She ended up in hospital trying to save Kei-kun for what sent him here. She was knocked out but is fine now and since she woke up I doubt she's spent more than five minutes away from his bedside." Haruka gently wiped the tears off her nieces face. "Now, are you ready to go see your brother?" she asked kindly. Thinking for a moment Kanako gave her a small smile and nodded. Returning her smile Haruka pulled the girl up onto her feet. "Now get going. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you."

Kanako blinked. "Aren't you coming?"

"I will but I need to have a cigarette before I go up." Haruka explained.

"I see." Kanako looked like she was going to say something else but closed her mouth, nodded her head and left for her brother's room.

Shaking her head Haruka pulled out cigarette and sighed as she lit it. "Damn brats causing me so much trouble. As if one wasn't enough I have to be stuck with an idiot for a niece _and_ nephew." She inhaled deeply and exhaled a puff of smoke.

* * *

Back in Keitaro's room the happy couple still sat on the bed with Keitaro's arm wrapped around Shinobu's waist, holding her close to him while she her head resting on his shoulder, snuggling closer to him and enjoying the feeling of warmth and security. Every so often Keitaro would kiss her forehead and whisper something into her ear which made her giggle and blush happily. Their happy moment together was interrupted by someone clearing their throat at the door. Looking towards the source of the sound Shinobu saw a girl with very pale skin and long black hair tied with a red ribbon standing at the door wearing a black skirt and a white sleeveless waistcoat on top of a black shirt. "Can we help you?" Shinobu asked.

Smiling slightly at the blue haired girl Kanako said "I came to see how the two of you are doing."

Keitaro frowned in the direction of the door "Have we met before?"

Kanako's smile faltered "You don't remember me?"

"Well you sound familiar but I'm afraid I can't really see anything beyond about here," He held out his hand to show his viewing range. "without my glasses on so I doubt that I'd even recognise my own mother at this distance." He smiled at the girl in the doorway.

"I see." Her small smile returned as she walked over to the couple. Sitting on the bed next to him she asked "How about now?"

Keitaro squinted as his eyes refocused on the pretty girl in front of him before blinking in surprise "Wait, are you Kanako-chan?"

Her smile grew slightly. "It's good to see you again Onii-sama."

Wrapping his arms around her waist Keitaro pulled her into a tight hug, making her eyes go wide as he caught her off guard. "It's good to see you too Kana-chan!" he cried as he squeezed her tightly. "I can't believe how big you've gotten! You were so tiny the last time I saw you! And you've become so beautiful!" Kanako blushed deeply before nuzzling into his neck and happily inhaling his scent. Getting their attention by clearing her throat Shinobu smiled at the siblings. "oh, sorry Shino-chan, this is my cute little sister that I told you about Kanako Urashima. Kana-chan, this is Shinobu Maehara my girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you." Shinobu said with a smile and a small bow.

"Likewise." She returned her bow.

"What are you doing here Kana-chan? How come you aren't still travelling around with Granny?" he asked as he removed one hand from Kanako to wrap around Shinobu.

Kanako pouted cutely "I hear that my Onii-sama is in hospital and you expect me not to come see how you are?" she looked closely at his bandaged face. "How are you feeling Onii-sama?"

"I'm fine Kana-chan. You know that nothing can keep me down for long." He grinned at her.

"You don't look fine." She squinted at him. "You look terrible."

"Thank you Kana-chan. You look very pretty too." He said dryly making her giggle. Looking over Shinobu, Kanako asked "And you?"

"I'm fine, it's just a bruise." Shinobu replied.

"Aunty told me how you tried to save Onii-sama. Thank you for looking after him."

"It's alright; your brother always gets himself in trouble if some isn't looking after him." She laughed.

"Yes, he's always been like that. Me and Aunty always used to have to save him when he did something stupid." Kanako returned her smile.

"Why does it feel like you two are ganging up on me?" Keitaro asked looking suspiciously at them.

"Because we are." Shinobu smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on, so I'll give you some time alone."

"You can stay if you want. I don't mind." Kanako offered.

"It's fine. I've been sitting here for three days now and could use some fresh air." She smiled at the siblings before hopping off the bed and leaving the room.

Finding themselves alone, Keitaro smiled and pulled his sister closer to him. "It's good to see you again Kana-chan." He kissed her cheek. "How's your trip with Granny been?"

"It was fun. We've been around most of the world and seen a lot of stuff. And Granny's taught me a lot more of our style."

"This doesn't mean I'll be a punching bag again does it?" he smiled.

"We'll see how it goes once you're out of hospital." She grinned.

Letting out a small laugh Keitaro said. "Sorry for dragging you away from your trip. It sounds like you were enjoying yourself."

"I was." She replied as she pressed her body against his, wrapping her arms around his chest and resting her head in the crook of his neck. "But the most important thing to me is making sure my Onii-sama is alright. I'd drop whatever it is I'm doing to come and check on you." She nuzzled into his neck.

"I know Kana-chan," he gently stroked her hair as she snuggled closer to him "That's one of the reasons why I've always loved you, you've always been such a sweet and caring girl." Her stroked her back and could have sworn that she was purring.

"I love you too Onii-sama." She responded quietly, her face bright red.

Smiling, Keitaro nuzzled into her soft hair and kissed the top of her head "You know, I've really missed you lately Kana-chan."

"Why? You have a girlfriend now?" Kanako asked though this made her happy.

"I've had a girlfriend for three days, two and a half of which I was in a coma." He smiled at her. "Besides no one will ever take your place in my heart Kana-chan." he ran his fingers through her hair.

Kanako's smile lit up the room "I'm glad Onii-sama." She murmured happily. "I've missed you too."

Returning her smile Keitaro continued to stroke her hair and back, going over the memories that had recently resurfaced. "Hey Kana-chan? You don't happen to remember that promise we made years ago do you?" Kanako's whole body stiffened. "It was a really long time ago when we were both still little kids, it was probably the first time that you visited Hinata Sou and we were in the springs? We promised that we'd run the inn together?"

Kanako's eyes were wide as she pulled back to stare at him. "Y-yea, I remember."

"I don't suppose you'd still want to, would you? I mean I know it's a dorm now but if you wanted to you-"

"YES!" She cried and lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly.

"Easy Kana-chan, I'm still a bit sore." He grinned as he hugged her tightly.

"Sorry Onii-sama." She pulled back, still smiling brightly at him.

"That's OK Kana-chan," he stroked her hair "Are you sure you want to come run the dorm with me? I mean there's your trip with Granny, I don't want you to feel like you have to give it up to help me with the dorm. I can manage by myself and I'll have Shinobu-chan with me to help until I fully recover if you wanted to finish your training with her." He offered.

"It's fine Onii-sama. I want to come live with you again." She smiled beautifully. "Besides, training doesn't feel right if I don't have you there to help me practice." She grinned.

"If you're sure Kana-chan, but give it some thought before you give Granny a call." he kissed her nose and pulled her to his chest. Kanako was the happiest she had ever been. Even if they wouldn't be together the way she truly wanted at least she would be close to him and right now that was all that mattered to her.

"Another one, Urashima-san? My, my you certainly are building yourself quite a little harem aren't you?" a voice called out from the door.

Breaking the hug, they looked at the source and saw his doctor leering at them with Yuki blushing next to her. Smiling at them Keitaro said. "This is my little sister Kanako-chan. Kana-chan, this is my doctor and nurse who have been kind enough to put up with me while I am here."

"oh my, first you aunt now your little sister? How indecent!" the doctor cried with her hand against her cheek making everyone blush.

"She also seems to enjoy tormenting me." Keitaro added wryly.

"Thank you for taking care of my Onii-sama." Kanako bowed to them.

"Don't worry about it." The doctor waved away her thanks. "Besides we've enjoyed having him and his girlfriend around here haven't we Yuki-chan?" she grinned at the nurse which made Yuki and Keitaro blush and Kanako wonder what she was implying.

"Come now Sensei, I'm sure Urashima-san wants to get home as soon as possible." Yuki tried to hurry the teasing woman along.

"Spoilsport." She grinned as she moved over to Keitaro "So how are you feeling?"

"Like I just got out of a coma and then punched in the face." He smiled.

"I'm sure you do." She returned his smile. "Anywhere in particular hurts?"

"My head mostly. The rest of me feels a bit weird but that's probably due to me being asleep for three days." He reported.

"mmm, well there doesn't seem to be any damage but I'd still like to give you a scan to make sure that there's no lasting damage but my preliminary thoughts are that you'll be fine. It looks like your freaky body has saved you again though I'm sure the nurses will be disappointed." She grinned at his blush. "I've managed to get you scheduled for a scan right now so we can take you there now if you're ready."

"Sure, whatever you say." He nodded his head. "You gonna be alright Kana-chan?"

"I'll be fine Onii-sama. I'll just go for a walk while you get the tests done." She smiled at him.

"OK then, see you in a bit Kana-chan." He kissed her cheek before getting out of the bed and helped into a wheelchair by the nurse.

"It shouldn't take much more than 20 to 30 minutes." Yuki told the gothic sister who slipped off the bed to walk next to her brother as he was wheeled out the room.

Kanako smile "Thank you." Turning to her brother she hugged him around the neck and kissed his forehead. "Good luck Onii-sama."

"I know I'm no good at tests Kana-chan but I think I'll be able to pass this one." He grinned at her.

"I'm sure you will." She pressed her lips against his cheek before wandering off.

"Come on now Urashima-san, the sooner we get going the sooner we can get you back to your women." His doctor grinned at him. "If you behave we'll even stop by the nurses' station." she leered.

* * *

Wandering around the hospital Kanako found herself at a balcony overlooking a small garden where she noticed her brothers blue haired girlfriend looking at the view. Kanako observed her a moment before walking up to her "Maehara-san." She said quietly.

"Oh, Kanako-san. Please call me Shinobu." She smiled and bowed. "Is Keitaro-kun alright?"

"Yes, his doctor just took him to get a scan." She leaned against the railing and join Shinobu in looking out the small garden below. "May I ask what exactly happened to put my Onii-sama in the hospital?"

"When we told one of the residents that we were a couple she did not take it too well and started to attack Kei-kun. Kitsune nee-san tried to pull her off but Naru hit her in the chest before she went to get Haruka-san."

"Kitsune?" Kanako asked.

"Mitsune Konno, One of the other residents. We told her before we told the other one and she said that she would support us." Kanako nodded her understanding. "After she went to get Haruka-san I tried to pull her off but when she pulled back to hit him again her elbow hit me in the eye and..." she pointed to the bruise on her face. "The next thing I knew I was in hospital. I'm not sure what happened but according to Haruka-san, Kei-kun hit her in the stomach and threw her off him before crawling over to me and collapsing. He's been unconscious up until a little while ago."

"I see. Thank you for trying to protect my Onii-sama." Kanako bowed deeply to Shinobu.

Waving her hands in front of her Shinobu smiled bashfully at Kanako. "P-please, I didn't really do anything. Kei-kun has done the same for me."

Kanako stared at the girl for a minute before saying "Onii-sama has asked me to come run Hinata Sou with him and I intend to accept but I feel there is something I should tell you beforehand."

"Go on." Shinobu prompted.

"I love Onii-sama the same way that you do. I don't know if he told you but I am his adopted sister so there is no blood relation between us. I have loved him since I first met him and I have always intended to make him my husband." She looked at Shinobu who was given her a guarded look. "However... what has always mattered most to me is that Onii-sama is happy. And I think that Onii-sama would be happiest with you. In the short time I have been here I have seen how much he loves you and the best I can hope for is to be allowed to be in his presence. If you are fine with me being at Hinata Sou I promise that as long as the two of you are together I won't try and make a move to claim him as my own. But if I even so much as suspect you are doing something to hurt him or something that will hurt him I will devote all my time and energy to steal him from you. If you are uncomfortable with someone who is in love with your boyfriend living in Hinata Sou I would understand and I will return to travelling with my grandmother." She bowed her head and waited for Shinobu to give her answer.

Shinobu looked out over the garden as she thought of an answer. "Hugs and kisses on the cheek only."

Kanako blinked "Pardon?"

Shinobu turned and smiled "Hugs and kisses on the cheek only. That's the same deal that I have with Kitsune nee-san. She's also in love with Kei-kun and has threatened to take him away from me if I hurt him so you might have a little competition if it ever comes to that."

"I-I don't understand. There's someone else that loves Onii-sama?" she asked wondering what type of person her beloved brother had become.

"Yes, but with Kei-kun being as dense as he is he wouldn't have noticed that we are in love with him if we hadn't told him." She smiled.

"W-why are you alright with me being around Onii-sama even though I love him?"

"When he talked about you he sounded as if though he really missed spending time with you and the way he acted when he realised when he realised who you were it's obvious how happy he was to see you. Being around you will make Kei-kun happy and that's all I really care about." She said as she stared over the balcony and a breeze gently ruffled her hair.

Kanako smiled as she looked at the pretty young woman. _'I can see why Onii-sama loves her.'_

Bowing again to the girl Kanako said. "Thank you Shinobu-chan."

"It's fine." She waved away her thanks with a smile.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you and Onii-sama become a couple?" Kanako inquired.

Shinobu was silent for a moment as she considered how to answer the girl. "You've been honest with me so I'll be honest with you but I would ask that you don't tell anyone else. Right now only three people know the full story and two of them are Kei-kun and your Aunt."

"If that is what you want." Kanako nodded, wondering why the girl was being so secretive.

"I... I first fell in love with your brother shortly after I met him. He was so different from what my Sempais at Hinata Sou told me men were like, he was kind and sweet and always forgave someone did they did something to him. But I don't think he ever saw me as anything more than a little sister until recently and I was never brave enough to confess my feelings for him."

"So what changed to either make you braver or make Onii-sama see you as a woman?" Kanako asked, wanting to know how she got her brother to see her as a woman just in case.

"A week ago I... I was nearly raped." She answered quietly. Kanakos eyes went wide and mouth dropped open. She had no idea what to say to the young woman and so remained silent and waited for her to continue. "Kei-kun was nearby and he saved me. After that... the day before we got sent to the hospital we somehow ended up by ourselves for the night. I decided that that was probably the only chance I would get to confess so I took it. The next day Kei-kun accepted me as his girlfriend and a couple of hours later we decided to tell Naru-san and we ended up here." She said with a small smile. "I don't know if what he feels for me is real or just pity but I am willing to accept whatever it is if it means I can be with him."

"He does love you." Kanako countered. "Onii-sama isn't capable of loving you out of pity. He knows that if he did he would eventually hurt you and Onii-sama could never bring himself to do that." She said with absolute certainty. "Onii-sama will have finished his scan by now, shall we go see how he's doing?" she smiled.

Returning her smile Shinobu said "Sure."

* * *

Returning to his room the two girls saw Keitaro scratching the back of his head with a bashful grin as he talked with his aunt who had an unimpressed look on her face. "What's going on?" Shinobu asked.

"I was just scolding my nephew for being such an idiot." Haruka informed them. "Oh and now that you're here."

-Whack-

"Ow, what was that for?" Shinobu cried as she covered the spot where Haruka's fan hit her head.

"For being just a big of an idiot as he is." Haruka scowled at her "I expect this level of stupidity of my nephew but not from you. Did it not occur to any of you to come get _me_ when you decided to tell Naru that the two of you are together?"

"I guess it slipped our minds." Shinobu smiled as she mimicked her boyfriend, bashfully scratching the back of her head.

Haruka let out a sigh as she shook her head. "I pity your children." She said which made the three other people in the room blush. "You two seem to be getting along with each other." Haruka observed.

"We came to an agreement." Shinobu smiled as she sat next to Keitaro on his bed.

"What agreement?" Keitaro asked confused.

"Nothing you need to worry about Onii-sama." Kanako smiled as she sat on his free side and kissed his cheek. "How did the scan go?"

"Sensei said that she would be back with the results soon." he explained as he wrapped his arms around Shinobu and Kanako's waists. "But I'm sure I'll be fine." He reassured the two girls.

"It's my job to decide that." The doctor and Yuki entered the room with a smile.

"Sensei, you remember my aunt Haruka." Keitaro smiled at them.

Haruka nodded at them and the doctor smiled at her. "Nice to see you again. I see you've nearly got your full harem with you Urashima-san. There seems to be one missing."

"She's back home. She got in from her home country last night and is still a little tired." Haruka explained the absence of the tanned princess.

"Is she alright?" Keitaro asked. Su never seemed to run out of energy and her being tired was quite worrying.

"She's fine, more worried about you than anything else." Haruka informed her nephew.

"Well I've got good news for your exotic girlfriend, you seem perfectly fine. From just looking at your scan if I didn't know better I would have said you're the model of good health. There isn't even any evidence of the trauma that you sustained from your first visit here. I really don't know how to explain how you are able to heal so well." She said bemused.

"Well his thick skull is used to getting hit." Haruka supplied. "I've been hitting him on the head for being an idiot since we were kids so he's probably built up a resistance to it."

"mmm, well I'd like to run a few more tests just to make sure you've fully recovered." She smiled innocently at him but Keitaro narrowed his eyes at her.

"You just want to experiment on me don't you?"

"Fu, Fu, Fu, of course not Urashima-san." She laughed nervously and tried to wave way his concerns but that just made him more suspicious."We don't experiment on our patients we just want to make sure that you're alright."

Keitaro narrowed his eyes more "I trust your first judgement. I'm sure I don't need any more tests to confirm your diagnosis."

"But...but, um, I know! If you agree to the tests you can add Yuki-chan here to your harem!" the doctor offered as she pulled the nurse in front of her.

Blushing a deep red Yuki cried. "Sensei! What do you think you're doing?"

"Quiet now Yuki-chan! Sacrifices must be made for science!" the doctor demanded but she was having none of it.

"Stupid Sensei!" she cried as she grabbed the closest thing to hand, which happened to be an unused bedpan and hit the doctor over her head sending her to the floor with spirals in her eyes. Clearing her throat as she regained her composure, Yuki bowed and said "I apologise on behalf of Sensei. She gets excited about the prospect of a new discovery."

Keitaro just chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm used personalities like hers and please call me Keitaro. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon in the near future."

"oh? Why's that?" she asked as she tilted her head to one side.

"Well, we've still got one more person to tell that we're a couple and I doubt that she'll take it any better than the one that did this to me." He said with a small smile. "Not to mention she's a swordswoman so... get a needle and thread ready."

"Fu, Fu, Fu! It seems I'll get another chance to run my tests!" the doctor laughed maniacally as she was instantly revived at the prospect of keeping her test subject. "And if you're put in another coma, you won't be able say no to my demands!"

"Come on Sensei, you've got other patients you need to check up on." Yuki said as she pushed the doctor towards the door. Turning back to Keitaro she smiled and said "I'll get you your discharge forms." Before following the doctor out.

Keitaro let out a deep sigh. "Why am I the only one who has to put up with a crazy doctor?"

* * *

**Stone Steps of Hinata Sou**

Exiting the archaeologists van Keitaro shakily got to his feet. "Are you OK Kei-kun?" Shinobu asked as she and Kanako supported him by holding onto his arms.

"Yea, my muscles are still just a bit stiff." He reassured them.

"You sure you're not just worried about facing Motoko-chan?" Haruka asked with a smile as she leant on the top of the van.

"Of course not Aunty." He grinned in the opposite direction of his aunt at a tree.

"Oi, idiot. I'm over here." She frowned at him.

Turning to the general direction of her voice he grinned bashfully at her. "Sorry. I can't really see anything without my glasses but I've got an old prescription that'll do until I can get them replaced."

"Well make sure you take one of the girls with you to choose a new pair. Otherwise you're just going to get the same style again." Haruka told him.

"What's wrong with the one I used to have?" he asked.

"I don't even know where to begin." She shook her head. "Well, let's get going." Haruka said.

Nodding their heads the four of them headed upstairs with Shinobu and Kanako guiding Keitaro by holding onto his arms. Arriving at the top of the stairs a blond blur pounced on top of Keitaro. Stumbling back Keitaro found himself nose to nose with a concerned looking Su. "Hey Su-chan, how are you?" he asked with a smile.

"That's my line!" she pouted and she squeezed him tightly around the waist with her legs.

Laughing Keitaro wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. "I'm fine Su-chan. You know I'm indestructible." He grinned at her but she frowned at him.

Pulling her nose away from his Su looked at his bandaged face as a whole "You don't look fine. You look all beat up." She pointed out. "And your lips cut. Let me kiss it better!" she leaned in to press their lips together but was pulled off of him by Kitsune.

"Oi, Oi, I don't think Shinobu-chan will be too impressed with you trying to kiss her boyfriend." She smiled as she set the tanned girl on the ground before wrapping her arms around Keitaro's neck. "You sure you're OK, Kei-kun?" she asked as she kissed his cheek.

Holding her close he rested his chin on her shoulder and said. "Yea just a bit sore, what about you? If I remember rightly she got you as well."

"Yea not bad, my chest hurts a bit. Maybe a bit later you can rub it better." She purred into his ear.

"We'll see." He smiled as they parted.

"So who's this?" Su asked at she examined his gothic sister from every angle.

Smiling Keitaro pulled Kanako next to him and hugged her around the waist with one arm. "Everyone, this is Kanako-chan, my cute little sister. She's the new manager of Hinata Sou."

"WHAT!" came Su and Kitsune's reply.

"What do you mean new manager?" Kitsune yelled. "Does that mean you're leaving?"

"Su doesn't want Kei-kun to go! Su wants Kei -kun to stay and play!" Su yelled as both girls hugged him tightly to stop him going anywhere.

Gently stroking their backs Keitaro kissed both of them on their foreheads. "Of course not." He smiled at them. "Kana-chan's going to help run this place while I'm still recovering. Then she's gonna be my co-manager."

"So you're not gonna leave us?" Su asked to make sure.

"How could I ever leave my girls?" he grinned and ruffled their hair playfully "Besides, who would I play with if I didn't live here with you Su-chan?" he kissed the tanned princess' nose. "And who would tease and torment me if I weren't around you Kitsu-chan?" he kissed the fox-lady's cheek. Both girls blushed and hugged him tightly. Keitaro hugged them just as tightly back until a tall dark haired beauty entered his limited field of vision. Pulling away from them Keitaro said "Motoko-chan." While Kanako took a step forward and slipped into a defensive stance.

"Urashima-sama, it is good to see that you are alright." She bowed deeply to him with a small smile.

"er, thanks." He said slightly confused. "How was your trip home?"

Motoko's smile faltered "It was... informative." She said quietly. "There... there is something I need to tell you."

"Sure, do you want to talk in private?"

"N-no it is best if I say this in front of everyone." Taking a deep breath Motoko knelt on the floor and placed her forehead on the ground in a deep bow.

"W-what are you doing Motoko-chan?" he asked bewildered.

"Urashima-sama, I want to apologise for all the crimes that I have committed against you. It has only recently come to my attention that many of the... punishments that I issued to you since you arrived here were uncalled for and unjust so I beg for your forgiveness. If there is any way I can even begin to compensate you for the harm and distress that I have caused you please tell me and I will endeavour to complete any task or service you wish." Motoko waited in silence for the man she tormented to answer with her forehead still on the ground. Her whole body stiffened and she squeezed her eyes closed as she heard him step closer to her and kneel down in front of her.

-Ruffle- -Ruffle- -Ruffle-

Motoko's eyes went wide as she felt Keitaro gently rub the top of her head. Looking up she stared in amazement at his gentle smile and kind eyes. "It's fine Motoko-chan. I understand why you did it. You were trying to protect the others from what you saw as a threat right?" Motoko slowly nodded her head. "Then I can't be mad at you for looking after your friends. You had honourable intentions so I can forgive you. Let's just forget all about it alright?" he smiled at her as he continued to pet her soft hair.

"Urashima-sama..." she murmured.

"I'm afraid the situation requires more than a simple apology, Urashima-san." A voice said. Looking up from the bowing girl Keitaro saw Motoko's big sister Tsuruko enter his field of vision.

"Tsu-Tsuruko-san! When did you get here?" he cried as he removed his hand from Motoko's hair and quickly backpedalled so that he was slightly behind his aunt and sister.

The elder Aoyama tilted her head slightly and gave him a somewhat bemused smile. "I have been since you arrived. I was standing behind Motoko while you... greeted Konno-san and Su-san." She replied.

"He's nearly blind without his glasses on." Haruka explained while Keitaro nervously scratched the back of his head.

"What did you mean when you said she needs to do more than apologise?" Shinobu asked as she anxiously held onto her boyfriends arm.

"What Motoko-han did was one of our schools greatest taboos. The techniques she used against her manager were solely meant to be used against demons and evil spirits and the only circumstances were it is acceptable to use them on a person is either during training or in a duel with another practitioner of our style. Motoko-chan has given me and the council that advises the head of our school a full account of what she has done during Urashima-sans tenure as manager here and never in our long history has one of our number done something like this. The only time one of our schools practitioners has used them against an untrained person is when a life is in danger and even then only as a last resort. By her own words Motoko-han has admitted that this was never the case. That, though she believed what she was doing was right, there was no trial or anything that resembled justice. Just her jumping to conclusions which has been proved wrong and lashing out at an innocent man and endangering the very people she was trying to protect. And she must face the consequences of her actions." Tsuruko concluded quietly. All the while Motoko remained kneeling with her head bowed.

"What kind of consequences?" Keitaro asked with a frown.

"That has yet to be seen. The fact that no serious harm has come to you or anyone else will count in her favour as well as the fact that you have forgiven her and that she came forward and admitted her crimes will be taken into account but what she has done is a very grave offence. And she will be punished."

"What kind of punishment could she face?" he asked not liking where the conversation was going.

"Possibly expulsion from our family and school as well as not being allowed to use are style again is probably the worst that would happen and she should count herself lucky if that is what is decided. With her offences a much..._harsher _punishment would have been demanded and it is only because she came forward and has shown such remorse for her actions that the punishment would be that lenient." Keitaro was glaring at the elder Aoyama though she ignored it. He had a good idea what a '_harsher_' punishment would likely entail and did not like the sound of it. "The very least that she can expect is to lose her standing in the school and permanently be reduced to status as novice. In any case she will lose her position as heir to the school." Tsuruko finished with a sigh.

"But you can't do that to her!" Keitaro cried surprising everyone at how forceful he was. "You said yourself how sorry she is and I've already forgiven her for what she has done. Besides, she only did those things because she was trying to protect the other girls! You can punish her for that!"

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Urashima-san." Tsuruko said solemnly. "The end does not justify the means and in this case even the end was wrong. To let Motoko-hans transgressions go by unpunished is not acceptable. We must make sure that no other students try and imitate what she has done."

"So you're making an example of her?" he asked angrily.

"In a way, yes. But even if we weren't she still needs to be punished." Tsuruko stated.

"What about me? I'm the one who she wronged right? Shouldn't I get a say in what happens to her?" he asked.

Tsuruko gave him an appraising look. "What would you suggest?"

"Well... I don't know! Can't I have a little time to think about it?" he requested.

"I suppose so. Though I should warn you the council must approve of your suggestion and they will not accept a punishment that is too lenient." She replied.

"I understand." He nodded as he moved to help Motoko stand up. "You alright Motoko-chan?"

"Y-Yes. Thank you Urashima-sama." She murmured as she looked at him in amazement.

"Right, I think we've spent enough time standing out here." Haruka said. "You've just come out of a coma Kei-kun, so you've got to take it easy."

"Sure Aunty." He smiled at her, missing the glare he got. "Um, is Narusegawa-san...?"

"We... haven't seen her since the _incident_." Kitsune supplied. "We think she went home to her parents place."

"We should call the police and get her charged with assault." Kanako growled.

"It's fine Kana-chan." He ruffled his sister's hair slightly. "I just want to forget all about it OK?" Kanako nodded but was clearly not amused. "Thanks Kana-chan." He kissed her cheek which brought a slight blush to her face. Turning back to his girlfriend Keitaro saw Su hugging the girl making sure the girl was alright. Giving them a quick smile he led everyone inside.

Once in the living room Keitaro was approached by a grinning Su. Giving her a suspicious look he asked. "You alright Su-chan?"

Wrapping her arms around his neck she gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "Congratulations Kei-kun! You better make my Shinomu happy OK?"

Hugging her back Keitaro smiled. "I'll do my best Su-chan"

"From what I understand he's already been making her _very_ happy." Kitsune leered as she hugged a blushing Shinobu from behind.

"K-Kitsune nee-san..." Shinobu tried to stop her but it was too late. The other mischievous personality in the room had already heard and had a big grin on her face.

"Is that so?" Tsuruko asked with a leer that made the couple blush. "I think it would be best if you told us _everything_, Maehara-san. Purely in the interest of knowing what kind of man my sister has been living with of course." She didn't even try and keep a straight face.

"Of course." Kitsune matched her leer. "And I can only think of one place that is suitable to have a discussion this important. The Hot Springs!" she cheered which was met with agreement from all the girls except Shinobu.

"W-wait a minute!" she tried to protest but Su and Kitsune grabbed her under her arms and were dragging Shinobu towards the springs with Haruka following to make sure her nephews girlfriend wasn't too traumatised. Turning to his sister Keitaro asked "You don't want to go Kana-chan?"

"I'm still a little jetlagged Onii-sama. I'd like to take a small nap now if that's alright?" she gave him a small smile.

"Sure Kana-chan, I'll put you up in my room for now and sort out a room for you later." He smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Nodding to the Aoyama women he led his sister upstairs to his room. Motoko looked at a loss, not sure whether she should retreat back to her room or join the others in the springs until Tsuruko grabbed her arm.

"Come on Motoko-han, the others are waiting for us." She said.

"S-sister, I don't think-" she started by was cut off.

"Motoko-han unless your manager can come up with an idea this may be one of the last times you get to spend with your friends. I suggest you do not waste it by moping in your room." Tsuruko insisted.

Staring at her sister for a moment Motoko nodded. "Yes Sister."

* * *

**Keitaro's room**

Rolling out his futon Keitaro turned and smiled at his sister sitting on the couch in his room. "OK, Kana-chan. It's all ready for you."

Kanako returned his smile "Thank you Onii-sama." Patting the empty place next to her she said "Onii-sama come and sit so we can talk for a while."

"Sure Kana-chan," sitting next to her Kanako wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling close to him with a happy smile on her face. Looking down at her he smiled at his pretty little sister. "You OK Kana-chan?"

"Yes, Onii-sama." She replied with a content sigh.

"I'm glad Kana-chan." He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a tight squeeze.

"Onii-sama? Are you happy?" she asked.

"Yea, Kana-chan. I'm happy." He buried his nose into her silky hair. "More so now that you're here." He said which made her giggle. "What about you? Are you happy?"

Kanako closed her eyes and nodded her head, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder and enjoying the warmth from his body. "Very happy, Onii-sama."

"That's good Kana-chan." He kissed the top of her head. Kanako purred happily and brought her legs up onto the seat so she leaned more on her brother.

"Can I ask you something Onii-sama?" she asked.

"Of course you can Kana-chan." He gently rubbed her hip.

"Why are you trying to save that Aoyama? From what I understand she attacked you just as much as the girl that did this to you." She gently poked his cheek.

Keitaro laughed slightly. "Yea, but she's my friend and I can't just sit back and do nothing when she's in trouble. You probably think I'm an idiot, huh?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes," she smiled through a yawn as her eyes closed. "But you wouldn't be my Onii-sama if you didn't try and get everyone to live happily together." Kanako murmured as her head slowly slipped down to rest on his lap as she fell asleep.

Keitaro smiled at her and gently stroked her hip with one hand and her hair with the other. _'It's been years since we've seen each other but you still know me so well.'_ He thought fondly _'That or I haven't changed much since we were kids.'_ Still stroking his precious little sister Keitaro looked over at a photo of him and all the Hinata girls. _'Live happily together, huh?'_ he though as an idea formed in his mind. _'mmmm...'_

* * *

**Meanwhile in the Hot Springs**

"...and then they spent the rest of the time making out on the sofa!" Kitsune exclaimed causing giggles to fill the springs. Kitsune had taken it upon herself to fill in the rest if the girls on just how far the couple's relationship had progressed while Shinobu sat their blushing, submerged in the springs up to her eyes out of embarrassment. Though she could have intervened Kitsune was only embellishing slightly so she couldn't deny it.

"oh my, how bold!" Tsuruko laughed, enjoying the situation just as much as Kitsune.

"She's a little minx isn't she?" Kitsune grinned as she poured herself and the elder Aoyama another saucer of sake whilst the visible part of Shinobu's face turned a deeper red.

"She certainly is!" Tsuruko grinned as she took a slip of her sake and passed it onto Motoko who took it without protest. Her face was just as red Shinobu's as she sat next to her sister with Su on her lap though it had nothing to do with the drink. She was just as surprised at how Shinobu had acted. As she sipped the alcohol and kept it out of Su's reach her sister continued. "I mean no offence when I say this but based upon my impression of you when we last met I would never of thought you would have been brave enough to confess to Urashima-san. May I ask why you caused such a change of persona?"

"It's not that big of a change seeing as we found her in his bed three days before hand." Kitsune interjected as Shinobu's eyes went wide.

"Oho? What's this?" Tsuruko asked.

"A week ago we found Shinobu-chan here snuggled up next to Kei-kun and it looked like she had been there all night. Their story was Shinobu-chan had a nightmare but something about that never sat right with me and I've been meaning to ask you about it since I couldn't get a straight answer out of your boyfriend." Giving the young bluenette a serious look she continued. "Now I know Kei-kun wouldn't have invited you into his bed without good reason seeing as na- seeing as his room isn't exactly private." She quickly stopped herself from mentioning her now former friends' name. "And I know before that day you blushed every time you thought about him so I think it would have taken more than a nightmare for you to ask to sleep with him seeing as I was just next door and the others were just upstairs. So what I want to know is why exactly were you sleeping in Kei-kuns bed?"

Rising up out of the water she nervously started "Um..." she trailed off as she considered what to say. Feeling someone firmly squeeze her hand Shinobu looked up to see Haruka smiling slightly at her.

"You don't have to tell them if you don't want to." She whispered to the girl. Su drifted over and hugged Shinobu. "We'll go along with whatever you want." She reassured her best friend.

Smiling at them Shinobu said quietly "Thank you." Pausing for a moment she continued "I-I think I want to tell them."

"If you're sure Shinobu-chan." Haruka gave her hand another squeeze.

Nodding her head she turned back to the others who were looking at her curiously. "D-do you remember the day before you found us in bed together me and Kei-kun arrived home together?"

Kitsune and Motoko nodded "Yea, you were down at the tea shop with Haruka-san right?" Kitsune asked.

"N-not exactly no." Shinobu murmured. "I...I was almost raped." A silence enveloped the hot springs. The three women who were in the dark about this had their mouths hanging open as they tried to process this information. Recovering first, Kitsune rushed forward and hugged Shinobu tightly to her chest.

"Oh My God Shinobu-chan are you alright? What happened? Did he do anything to you?Why didn't you tell us!" she blurted out.

"I'm fine Kitsune nee-san. You don't have to worry about it-"she started.

"What do you mean I don't have to worry about it? Of course I do! You just told me that you were nearly raped!" Kitsune cried as squeezed her tightly.

"Because I wasn't. Kei-kun saved me." She murmured as Kitsune smothered her in her breasts.

"Kei-kun saved you?" Kitsune asked.

Shinobu nodded. "I don't really remember what happened, just that I was pushed against a wall and then Kei-kun carrying me home. As for why I didn't tell anyone... I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want anyone to know."

"How come these two know then?" Kitsune motioned to Haruka and Su.

"Who do you think Kei-kun came to when he got her home?" Haruka said. "Shinobu-chan was half naked and in an almost catatonic state by the time Kei-kun brought her to me so what do you think would have happened if he walked in the front door carrying her like that?" Kitsune grimaced slightly. In truth she would have probably jumped to the same conclusions as certain other people would have.

"And Su knows because Su figured out something was wrong and confronted Shinomu." Su explained.

"How did you do that?" Kitsune asked.

"Because Su is a genius." She said simply before swimming over to Shinobu and hugging her from behind. "And no one knows my Shinomu better than I do." She boasted and nuzzled into the back of Shinobu's head making her giggle.

"You still should have told us what happened but I understand why you didn't." Kitsune kissed her forehead. _'Well this certainly explains a lot.'_ She thought idly.

"Are you alright Motoko-chan?" Haruka asked. Turning their attention to the younger kendo-girl everyone saw Motoko was extremely pale and shaking.

"Y-You were nearly raped?" Motoko asked with stutter.

"I-I'm fine Motoko-sempai." Shinobu tried to reassure her.

Motoko shook her head as tears started to fall from her eyes. "I-it's not just that. W-when you and Urashima-sama returned and Naru-san tried to attack him, I was right behind her. If it wasn't for Haruka-sans intervention I would have done the same thing. I would have attacked him for saving you from being raped!" she wept. "N-not only that but after I found out that you had spent the night with him and attacked him, when he came back I practically accused him of trying to rape you!" she cried as she hid her face in her hands. Motoko continued to sob until she felt someone wrap their arms around her. Looking up she saw Shinobu's smiling face through her tears. "S-Shinobu-chan..."

"It's alright Motoko-sempai." She stroked her hair. "Kei-kun's already forgiven you hasn't he?" Motoko nodded "Then you don't have to worry it." Shinobu smiled.

"But... but... he..." She started until she felt her sister gently rubbed her head "S-sister...?"

"Motoko-han, from what I understand Urashima-san is not one to hold a grudge. He has forgiven you of everything you have done and there is very little you can do unless he demands something of you so I suggest that you calm down and relax while you can."

"Y-Yes sister." Motoko nodded sadly. Giving her sister a small smile Tsuruko joined Shinobu in hugging her. "Thank you." Motoko murmured.

"So what happened to the bastard that tried to do that to you?" Kitsune wondered.

"I-I'm not sure." Shinobu admitted, all the while still hugging the sad swordswoman. "I never asked." She looked at Haruka.

"Well, in Kei-kuns own words, after he got through with that pervert 'it would be a medical miracle if he can piss straight let alone rape someone.' So take from that what you will." Haruka informed the others.

A shocked silence descended on the springs. "Kei-kun really said that?" Kitsune asked.

"Yep." Haruka said simply.

"Really?" she asked again still not able to see Keitaro doing something like that.

"Is it really that hard to believe? You saw what he did to Naru when she knocked Shinobu-chan out, is it that big of a stretch to think about what he would do if he saw someone trying to rape her?"

"From my experience with Keitaro-san, yes." Tsuruko said. "He is not an adept of your family's style, is he?"

Haruka made a face. "Depends on what aspect you look at. Offensively he's a rank amateur but defensively, back when he trained regularly it was pretty impossible to keep him down. He even beat me once in a sparring match simply because I was too exhausted to keep pummelling him."

"Still doesn't explain how he was able to beat the shit out of someone." Kitsune commented.

"Well, Kei-kun's always had a very well defined sense of what's right and wrong and if there's one thing he abhors is to see a guy hurt a girl. It's even worse when he knows the girl. Back when we were all still kids and shortly after Kanako-chan was adopted he got in a fight with two older boys who were bullying her. This was before Hina put him through any kind of training so he got pretty beaten up but he gave as good as he got."

"So he could have put a stop to what we put him through?" Kitsune asked.

"From what I understand, Kei-kun never trained unless Hina made him, or me and/or Kanako-chan asked him to help us train but since he hadn't seen his grandmother or sister for a few years and I don't really train much anymore his skills have probably degraded slightly but in a serious fight he would most likely draw with Motoko despite all the training she's done simply because he could take more hits than she could dish out. As for Naru...well, you saw what he did to her."

"So why didn't he?" Su asked.

Haruka raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly at the princess "Isn't it obvious? You're his friends."

* * *

Deciding to cut her dip in the springs short Motoko headed back to her room wearing just a robe and running a towel through her hair. Reaching her door Motoko stopped and stared when she saw Keitaro waiting outside her room, staring off into space. "Urashima-sama?" she said quietly.

Blinking as he was brought out of his reverie Keitaro turned and smiled at her. "Hey Motoko-chan, do you mind if I talk with you?"

"Of course, Urashima-sama." She bowed slightly before entering her room.

"I-I'll wait out here while you get dressed." Keitaro offered.

Motoko gave him a small smile. "It's fine Urashima-sama, please come in."

"If you're sure Motoko-chan." He nodded nervously as he followed after her. Keitaro sat down at the small table in the centre of the room with Motoko kneeling opposite. "How are you doing Motoko-chan?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"Fine for now Urashima-sama." She allowed a weak smile. "We shall have to wait and see what my punishment will be before I can give you a more definite answer."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He said. "Why did you go home and tell them what happened?"

"Because what I did was wrong and the only way for me to be at peace with my conscience is to accept whatever punishment is decided."

"But why? I mean before you announced that you were going back home you never thought twice about punishing me, what changed? He asked.

Motoko cringed at the accurate description of her actions. "I eavesdropped on your conversation with Kitsune where she confessed all the wrongs she had done to you and asked for your forgiveness. I was trying to make sure you weren't trying to take advantage of her." She let out a humourless laugh. "Only to find out that it was her that has been taking advantage of you. And not only that but she had been manipulating situations for her own amusement at your expense more or less since you arrived here." She was silent for a moment. "I thought about all those times that you were a victim of Kitsune's schemes and you proclaimed your innocence but we didn't listen. Then I thought about the other times you insisted that you were innocent and that if we were wrong about all the times you were manipulated by Kitsune then how many other times were you innocent?" she lapsed into another silence. "I...I was horrified at the thought that I was harming an innocent and I didn't know what to do. So I asked my sister and she told me to come home." She finished quietly.

"Why didn't you come talk to me?" he asked.

"Because I was scared." She murmured looking down at her hands.

"Scared of what?"

"Scared that you wouldn't forgive me."

Keitaro blinked "Why did you think that? You heard that I forgave Kitsune why did you think I wouldn't be able to forgive you as well?"

"Because what I did was far worse than anything Kitsune ever did!" she cried with tears running down her face. "The things that I did to you could have killed you! I didn't know how to face you let alone begin to make it up to you!" her body was racked with sobs as she wept. Moving over to the lamenting samurai girl her pulled out a tissue and cupped her chin, lifting up her face to gently wipe away her tears.

"It's alright Motoko-chan. I forgive you." He said with a small smile as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Looking into his kind eyes Motoko pulled back and averted her eyes. "There is something else I must apologise for."

"I think you've already apologised for everything." He grinned at her.

Shaking her head she said. "Shinobu-chan told the rest of us what happened to her and how you saved her."

Keitaro was slightly taken back. "I see."

"I, I... what I said to you... I understand now why you were so upset. It was wrong of me to do so and I can't apologise enough for implying that you would do something as terrible as that to Shinobu-chan." She bowed her head again.

Keitaro reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head. "It's alright Motoko-chan I forgive you."

She looked up and gave him a small smile. "Thank you Urashima-sama."

"It's fine Motoko-chan." He continued to rub her head for a moment. "Motoko-chan I think I've come up with a punishment for you but I'd like your opinion on it before I ask your sister."

Motoko stiffened but nodded. "If there is anything you require of me I will endeavour to complete it to the best of my ability.

Keitaro frowned. "That's not what I want Motoko-chan. I want your opinion not just you blindly doing as I ask."

Motoko smiled faintly "As you wish Urashima-sama."

Nodding his head Keitaro continued "Well one of the main problems they had was that you attacked me and that you put others in danger right?"

"Among other things." she said quietly as she nodded.

"Well, what about you stay here?"

Motoko blinked. "Pardon?"

Keitaro smiled at her "Since you are in trouble for putting us in danger wouldn't a fitting punishment be for you to remain here for a while and protect us? That way you can continue to practice your style as it would be in the interest of looking after all of us and keeping us safe."

Motoko just stared at him wide eyed and mouth agape. She was silent for a moment before looking away. "I can't accept that." She mumbled.

Keitaro's smile fell. "Why not? Don't you want to stay here with us?"

"Of course I do!" she cried with tears running down her face. "But I don't deserve it! After everything I've done to you I don't deserve how kind you've been to me! I don't deserve to be here with all of you! I don't deserve to be happy!" she wept. Motoko buried her face in her hands, all her barriers broken down and her soul laid bare.

She continued to cry even when Keitaro wrapped his arms around her body and brought her head to his chest. She tried to pull away still bawling her eyes out but Keitaro wouldn't let go and when she finally gave up Motoko nuzzled into his torso accepting the comfort she felt she didn't deserve. Keitaro held the broken samurai close to his chest, gently stroking her back and running his fingers through her still damp hair, trying to project the care and love that she needed.

When she finally ran out of tears but still was shaking Keitaro lifted up her chin and wiped away her tears again. "Are you feeling better now Motoko-chan?" Motoko just stared at him with mournful eyes. "Listen Motoko-chan, I don't care if you feel like you deserve my forgiveness without going through some kind of hardship because I don't want that. And I don't want to just leave you at the mercy of the people back at your school. I remember the last time Tsuruko-san visited and told you that you couldn't be a swordswoman anymore. I never thought I'd see someone as strong and as wilful as you looking so despondent and I was scared that you might do something stupid." He told her, his eyes full of concern. "I never even want to think of you like that. You're important to me and I care about you. I've already lost one friend this week I don't want to lose another." He held her tightly.

Motoko stared into his honest eyes and blushed slightly. Nodding her head she murmured "I don't want to lose you either Urashima-sama."

"Oi, Oi. We're friends right? Call me Keitaro from now on, OK Moto-chan?" he playfully scolded her.

Motoko blush deepened "As you wish Keitaro-sama."

Brushing her hair out of her face and placing a kiss her forehead he said. "A bit more formal than I meant but it's a start." Keitaro smiled as her face burned bright red. Marvelling at how cute she looked when she was embarrassed Keitaro's eyes went wide as he noticed something. That something was that Motoko's body was still slightly wet from her bath so the robe that she was wearing clung to her body and showed off her well defined curves as well as the fact that the robe had come loose to show off a generous amount of cleavage. Seeing his face turn a bright shade of red Motoko followed his line of sight and realised how exposed she was. When she closed the robe across her breasts Keitaro realised that he had been rumbled and he pulled away from her. "S-Sorry Motoko-chan! I didn't mean to do that!" he waved his hands in front of him.

Keitaro blinked when he heard Motoko laugh. Keitaro stared at her wide eyed as she giggled at him, never expecting Motoko of all people to burst into a fit of giggles especially after she caught him staring at her chest. _'I think I understand why Kitsune enjoys teasing him.'_ Motoko though as she smiled at his confused expression. Shuffling over to him, Motoko sat across his lap, wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips against his cheek. "It is fine Keitaro-sama." She whispered before burying her face into his neck out of embarrassment.

It took him a moment to recover from what just happened but when he did; Keitaro wrapped his arm around her waist and ran his hand through her soft hair. "Thanks Moto-chan." He hugged her tightly. Nuzzling into his neck Motoko smiled, surprised at how comfortable she felt sitting on his lap with his arms wrapped around her.

"I should be thanking you Keitaro-sama." She murmured as she enjoyed the warmth radiating from him "If it wasn't for you forgiving me I'd be in a much worse position than I am now."

"It's not like I could really blame you for thinking that way about me, especially after how we first met." He chuckled slightly. "And then there was that whole lying about being a Tokyo U. student." He sighed "I knew I should have just admitted to all of you from the start instead of let Narusegawa-san keep the lie going."

Motoko frowned and pulled back to look at him. "What do you mean? Narusegawa-san knew that you weren't a Tokyo U. Student?"

"Yea, Aunty thought I was already a student and I didn't have a chance to correct her until later on. When I finally managed to tell her she tried to convince me to keep lying to you but it didn't feel right after you all accepted me so I decided that I would come clean and leave but Narusegawa stopped me before I could. I guess I thought that if the person who was most against me living here was willing to lie to her friends to let me stay then maybe the rest of you wouldn't mind so much either." he gave a humourless laugh. "And we all know how turned out. Why? Didn't she tell you she knew?"

"No she didn't." Motoko's frown deepened, not only because of how her now former sempai had just hung him out to dry after she persuaded him not to come clean and after _her_ lie had been discovered but also because of how shallow she and the other girls seemed all those years ago, more than happy to accept him because they thought he was in a prestigious university but tried to expel him as soon as they found out he wasn't. "Why didn't she tell us?"

"You tell me, you were friends with her before I was." He replied.

Motoko gave him a sad smile. "It seems the more we talk the more I find I have to apologise for."

Keitaro squeezed her waist tightly. "Listen, I forgive you for everything that happened so you don't have to worry about it anymore OK." Motoko smiled and nodded her head. "Good, now how about we go down and get something to eat and then after dinner we can talk to your sister about my idea?

Nodding her head she stood up and when Keitaro did the same she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly "Thank you again, Keitaro-sama. For everything."

"No problem Moto-chan," he hugged her tightly around the waist and kissed her cheek. "I'll wait outside for you to get dressed." Getting a nod Keitaro left the girl to get dressed. As soon as he closed the door and turned around he found himself face-to-face with Kitsune. "Kitsu-cha- mfph?" he was cut off as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth. Caught off guard it took Keitaro a moment to grab her hips and push her away. "K-Kitsune, I told you, you can't do that now I'm with Shinobu-chan." He told her off.

"I know, but this is a special circumstance. Shinobu-chan told us what happened and I just wanted to thank you for saving her." She pressed her body close to his and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Anyone would have done the same." He replied as he returned her hug and ran his hand up and down her back.

"It doesn't matter that that anyone would have done the same. What does matter is that you did save her and if you weren't already Shinobu-chans boyfriend I'd drag you into my room and show you just how grateful I am." she breathed huskily into his ear.

"K-Kitsu-chan!" He stuttered with a blush.

"But since you are I'll have to settle for this." With that she pulled his head back to down to kiss him. This time Keitaro didn't push her away, instead, he gently rubbed her hips before wrapping her arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, one hand slipping up the back of her shirt to caress her smooth skin. Breaking the kiss with a moan and then a wistful sigh Kitsune rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes "I can't believe how lucky Shinobu-chan is." She murmured as she rubbed her cheek against his chest.

"And I can't believe how lucky the guy who manages to earn a kiss like that from an amazing woman like you will be." He returned her compliment as he nuzzled into her short hair enjoying the smell of her shampoo.

"Well if you saved a girl every week I could reward you like that all the time." She leered at him.

Keitaro just laughed. "Yea, 'cos I'm a regular superhero aren't I? I can see it now, the Rōnin Ranger. I could even get my own T.V. show."

"And I could be your sexy sidekick with a really short skirt and skimpy top who takes care of the fan-service and ends up getting stripped and molested by you in some way every episode." She grinned.

"Sounds like a plan." He grinned back and kissed her forehead before running his fingers through her hair. As they enjoyed their moment together Motoko's door opened to reveal the kendo girl who was looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

Before he could say something stupid, Kitsune said. "Hey Motoko-chan, I was just thanking Kei-kun here for what he did for Shinobu-chan."

Motoko smiled and nodded her head "I see. Shall we head down for dinner?"

"Sure." Keitaro nodded. When Kitsune removed herself from his waist and attached herself to his arm it was clear that she had every intention of being escorted to the dining room so Keitaro held out his free arm to Motoko who grabbed hold of it with a blush before all three set off to the dining room.

* * *

Entering her kitchen, Shinobu slipped on her apron and collected seemingly random ingredients. She brought them over to the cutting board but before she could make the first cut a hand rested on her shoulder and another on her hand holding the knife. "What are you up to Shinobu-chan?" a voice asked.

"I'm making us all dinner, Haruka-san." She smiled up at the aunt.

"You should be taking it easy." Haruka gently rubbed her head.

"I'm fine Haruka-san. I wasn't even unconscious for very long."

"You still shouldn't push yourself." Kanako agreed with her aunt as she entered the kitchen. "You should let us take care of dinner."

"If you're sure." She laid down her knife. "I'll leave it to you."

Before Shinobu could leave Kanako reached up and brushed Shinobu's hair out the way and looked at the large bruise. "Does this hurt?"

"Only if I put pressure on it." She replied.

Kanako nodded. "If you like I can I can show you how to put on some makeup which will hide it until you've healed." She offered.

Shinobu smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

"You guys seem to be getting on well." Keitaro grinned as he walked over to his sister and girlfriend.

"Of course we are." Kanako smiled as her brother kissed her and Shinobu's cheek.

"How are you doing Kei-kun?" Haruka asked.

"Not bad. I've had a talk with Motoko-chan and I think we've made our peace. I also think I've come up with a way to resolve this whole problem she has with her school."

"mmm, just remember that just because you and Motoko-chan think it's a good idea doesn't mean Tsuruko-san or the others at their school will feel the same so don't get your hopes up too soon."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Shinobu said as Keitaro wrapped his arms around her waist and rest his head on her shoulder. "You should have more faith in your nephew, Aunty." She grinned cheekily at her. Frowning at the girl Haruka wacked her on the head with her fan. "Ow!"

"Just because I can't hit him doesn't mean I can't hit you. And I'm not your aunty until to marry my idiot nephew who will propose to you soon if he knows what's good for him."

"We've been together for three days Haruka-san, most of which I was unconscious. Do you think we can hold off on the marriage meeting until after we have a second date?" he said dryly.

"I'm just warning you that if you wait too long she's going to realise what a beautiful girl she is and that she can do a lot better than an idiot like you." She stated with a smile.

"What lovely praise from my loving aunt." He deadpanned making the girls smile. "Come on, let's leave these two to make us dinner." He kissed Shinobu on the top of her head as he led her to the dining room.

As the two Urashima women started to prepare the meal, Kanako broke the somewhat uncomfortable silence by asking. "Aunty?"

"Yea, Kanako-chan?" Haruka asked and as she turned she was suddenly glomped by her niece. "Kanako-chan?"

With her head in her aunts neck Kanako said. "Thank you for what you said to me at the hospital. I...I probably would have done or said something stupid that would ruin my relationship with Onii-sama and I just wanted to say thank you for calming me down."

Haruka stood still for a moment before wrapping her arms around the girl and stroked her hair. "Don't worry about it. Besides Kei-kun seems happier now that you're around so that's thanks enough." She hugged the girl reassuringly. "Now you go and spend time with your brother and I'll finish dinner."

"Sure Aunty." Kanako smiled and walked towards the door. "Oh and one more thing." She held up a packet of cigarettes. Haruka blinked and patted her pockets before narrowing her eyes at the teen. "Granny told me to try and get you to quit smoking while I'm here." She smiled sweetly at the elder woman before beating a hasty retreat out the door.

Still frowning, Haruka muttered "Damn brats, always causing me trouble." She shook her head before retuning her attention to the food.

* * *

After dinner Keitaro asked to speak with Tsuruko. Getting a nod Keitaro and the two Aoyama's retreated to Motoko's room. Sitting across from him with Motoko positioned between the two Tsuruko asked. "Well, Urashima-san. I presume you have come up with a suitable punishment for my sister?"

"Yes, but first. Why are you two here?" Keitaro asked looking at his aunt and sister who were on either side of him.

"To make sure that we agree with the punishment." Haruka said. "This is more than just an incident between the two of you. If she had just come to you and apologised we could have forgotten about but since she went home and admitted what she did it's now a case of the Aoyama heir attacking the Urashima heir, and me and Kanako-chan have to make sure the punishment is acceptable in Hina's stead."

Keitaro blinked "I'm the Urashima heir?" he asked surprised.

Glaring at him Haruka said "Of course you are. You think your grandmother just randomly gives a dormitory and a large amount of land to members of our family?"

"I guess I never thought about it like that." He chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

Rolling her eyes Haruka muttered "I can't wait until I can go back to hitting you for being stupid."

"OK, then what about you three?" he asked, looking at Shinobu, Kitsune and Su sitting to the side with a banner saying 'Good Luck Motoko!'.

"Moral support." Kitsune stated as Su and Shinobu waved the banner a bit.

"As you were saying, Urashima-san." Tsuruko brought the conversation back to the main topic. "You have decided on a punishment?"

"My idea is to have Motoko-chan stay here with us and act a retainer to guard and protect those that she could have harmed."

Tsuruko stared at him in silence for a long moment before saying "Forgive me Urashima-san but that does not seem much like a punishment to me. In fact it appears to be very similar to how things are right now."

"I am not trying to punish her; I'm trying to give her a way to redeem herself. The reason why you and everyone at your school are so mad at her is because she used your techniques against me and put others in danger right?" he waited for the elder Aoyama to nod before continuing. "Well I don't see how her being expelled from your school and being forbidden from practicing your style will make up for what she has done. Especially since none of us want that to happen but with my idea she can properly make amends to the people who were affected by her actions."

Tsuruko stared slightly in awe at him. To be honest she never really expected the man to come up with an idea as well thought out as he had. Tsuruko was quickly re-evaluating her opinion of the young man. "We could not just leave her unsupervised lest she fall into old habits."

"Then perhaps a certain sister of hers can visit her at least once a month to see how she's doing?" Keitaro smiled at her.

Tsuruko remained expressionless before breaking out in a smile and laughing slightly. "My, my Urashima-san, it appears that I have underestimated you."

Keitaro blinked "Does that mean it is acceptable?

"I still have to present your idea to the council but I believe I can make them see sense." The way she said that sent a shiver down Keitaro's spine. Turning to the three girls to the side she asked. "Is this course of action acceptable to you three?" which was met with a chorus of yeses. "And you Haruka-san? Kanako-san?"

Haruka shrugged. "Sounds good to me. As long as she doesn't send Kei-kun flying again I'm alright with it. Kana-chan?" she turned to her niece.

Kanako nodded. "I think it is acceptable. Besides it could be useful to have another person to help with Onii-sama's training."

"My what?" Keitaro asked.

"Your training. Granny said that while I'm here with you I'm to get you training again. And this time you're going to learn both offensive and defensive aspects of our style."

"Why?"

Kanako frowned. "Because of this." She poked his cheek. "Back when we were all training together you could take hits from me, Granny and Aunty at the same time and still be standing but now someone who has only had the smallest amount of martial art training can send you to hospital!"

Knowing a losing battle when he sees one Keitaro gently petted his sisters head. "Sure Kana-chan whatever you say."

"So does this mean...?" Kitsune asked.

"Yes..." Motoko whispered with a faint smile. Cheering, the three spectators rushed forward and hugged Motoko tightly, congratulating her. Giving Motoko a big kiss on the cheek Su let go of the kendo girl and pounced on Keitaro, knocking him onto his back. Grinning at him Su cheered. "You did it Kei-kun!"

"I guess I did." He smiled back at her.

"And here's your reward!" she grinned and pressed her lips against his. As her tongue slipped into his mouth, Keitaro's eyes went wide and his arms flailed around until Kitsune pulled the princess off of him. "Hey!"

"Su-chan you can't do things like that." Kitsune scolded her.

"Why Not?" she pouted as Keitaro shakily sat up.

"Because you have to get permission from his girlfriend first like I have!" with that she leapt on top of him, knocking him back down. Pressing her lips against his Kitsune had just slipped her tongue into his mouth when she felt something pointy jab her in the butt. Crying out in surprise she jumped off of Keitaro turned around to see Motoko holding her sheathed sword and frowning at Kitsune. "What do you think you're doing Motoko-chan?" she cried as she rubbed her sore rump.

"As his retainer I am protecting Keitaro-sama from being molested by the two of you." She stated as she started to help Keitaro sit up.

"Keitaro-sama is it?" Kitsune's eyes gleamed. "You just want to play out your Master/Slave fantasy with him don't you?" she accused the kendo girl.

"W-What are you trying to say?" she blushed and let go of Keitaro, dropping him back to the floor.

"She's saying that you want to get all snuggly with Kei-kun just like we do!" Su joined in on Kitsune's side or the argument.

"D-Don't be absurd! I-I would never do something as indecent as that with Keitaro-sama. I-I am merely trying to do my duty as retainer!" she yelled, her deepening blush betraying her.

While the three girls were arguing with each other over Keitaro, Kanako had silently slipped behind the man in question, held him under his arms and quietly began to pull him towards the door but unfortunately was discovered by Su. "Hey Kanako-chan where to you think you're taking Kei-kun!"

Glaring slightly at the princess she said "Back to his room, Onii-sama needs his rest!"

"Liar!" Su declared. "You just want Kei-kun all to yourself!"

Sitting him up Kanako hugged her brother from behind so that her arms were around his neck and his head between her small breasts. "And if I do? He's my Onii-sama so I'm entitled to quality time with him!" she countered. Keitaro meanwhile wasn't paying any attention to what was taking place around him because his eyes were swirling due to being dropped so many times.

"He's my Onii-sama too!" Su cried as she jumped on top of him, preventing her from dragging the man out the door.

"But he was my Onii-sama before he was yours!" Kanako pointed out.

"If you want to get technical about it, he was my nephew before he was your brother." Haruka put in, finding the situation Keitaro had gotten himself into highly amusing.

While the other girls argued over Keitaro, Shinobu was watching the skirmish with a smile on her face. "For someone whose boyfriend is currently being mauled by several attractive women you don't seem to be very concerned." Tsuruko observed.

"Should I be?" Shinobu responded. "Everyone here is like family to me and I trust Kei-kun with my life. Besides, if it means that everyone can be happy I don't mind allowing a few hugs and kisses every now and again." She ended in a murmur.

"Is that so?" Tsuruko smiled at the chef. "My, my, Motoko-han certainly lives with interesting people. The most remarkable being your boyfriend of course. He would indeed make a good brother-in-law." Shinobu gave her a look. "Do not concern yourself Shinobu-san, I have no intention interfering with your relationship for my sisters sake, though should something happen a marriage meeting may be in order." She grinned at the girl.

"Perhaps." Shinobu said with a small laugh. "Though I think you may be slightly late." Tsuruko raised a questioning eyebrow. "I'm afraid a cue has already been formed to be my replacement if it ever comes to it." She smiled and turned back to the girls fighting over her boyfriend.

Following her gaze Tsuruko murmured with a small smile "Is that so?"

Nodding her head Shinobu stood up and said "If you will excuse me Tsuruko-san, I believe my boyfriend needs to be saved."

"Of course Shinobu-san." She murmured as she watched the young woman enter the fray. Smiling at the women clustered around the man Tsuruko said to herself "I hope Motoko-han realises how lucky she is."

* * *

**Later that Night in Keitaro's Room**

Stretching his arms above his head, Keitaro rolled his shoulders to get some of the stiffness out of them. Slipping into his pyjama bottoms he removed is shirt and placed it to one side before gingerly pulling his top over his bandaged head. As he unfurled his futon that Kanako had put away for him there was a knock at his door and a voice called out "Kei-kun, may I come in?"

Turning to the door with a smile he called out "Sure Shino-chan."

When the door slid open the smile fell from his face as his mouth dropped open and eyes went wide at the vision before him. Shinobu stood in the doorway, her face red and head bowed in embarrassment but what caught Keitaro's attention was what she was wearing. The beautiful young woman was clad in a lilac bra and matching panties, the lacy undergarments complementing her almost translucent skin almost making it seem as if she wore nothing at all. The bra showed off her small breasts to their fullest, cupping the budding mounds to accentuate their beauty and shape. With as much willpower as he could muster, Keitaro tore his eyes from his girlfriend's gorgeous bust and let his gaze wander down her body, admiring how her skin seemed to glow and how cute her bellybutton was until they reached her smooth hips. Keitaro's mouth dried up as he saw the silk panties hugging her mound tightly, hiding nothing from Keitaro's eyes.

"Sh-Shino-chan." He murmured as he stared at her beautiful body.

"Y-You said that you wanted to see what Kitsune nee-san brought me." She said shyly.

"Y-you look beautiful Shino-chan." He said as he walked up to her and rested his hands on her hips. As close as he was, Keitaro noticed that none of what his girlfriend was wearing was completely opaque, both see-through to some extent meaning that Keitaro couldn't take his eyes off the two dark circles that he could just make out through the fabric.

"They're embarrassing." She murmured still not meeting his eye.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about." He told her as he brought a hand up to cup one of her breasts and gently stroked the exposed flesh with his thumb.

"Do you like them?" She asked hesitantly.

"Y-yea, Shino-chan. They look amazing." He nuzzled into her hair while he brought his free hand up to cup her rear, gently rubbing back and forth trying to decide what felt softer, the smooth skin of her butt or the silk cloth covering her.

"T-Thank you Kei-kun." She mewed as she buried her head in his chest, obviously enjoying the attention he was paying her. "W-Would it be alright if I wore your shirt again?"

"W-whatever you want Shino-chan." He said as he gently rubbed her hips and kissed the top of her head. Taking her hand in his Keitaro led her deeper into his room. Picking up his recently discarded shirt he handed it to his girlfriend. "T-thank you Kei-kun." She said quietly as she slipped it on, instantly enjoying the warmth of her boyfriend that the shirt still held. As she began to do up the bottom button, Keitaro reached out and gently took a hold of her hands. Once he was certain that she wouldn't move again, Keitaro let go of her hands, pushed the sides of his shirt apart and gently stroked her hips. Reaching around her waist he gently pulled her closer to him, one hand resting on the small of her back and the other one her rear. Bringing the hand that was on her back up to cup her chin, Keitaro whispered. "You're so beautiful Shino-chan." Lifting up her chin he leaned down to kiss her but paused when he got his first good look at her face since she entered his room. "Shino-chan... what happened to...?"

"Kanako-chan showed me how to cover up the bruise with makeup." She informed him.

"I see." He gently stroked her cheek marvelling at what appeared to be her unblemished skin. _'I'll have to thank her later.'_ Keitaro thought as he leaned in to kiss her. "I love you Shino-chan."

Pressing his lips against hers, Keitaro tentatively probed her mouth with his tongue until she allowed him entrance and was greeted by her own. As their tongues explored each others mouths Keitaro ran his fingers through her soft blue hair while the other gently squeezed her firm rear making her moan into his mouth. Breaking the kiss but keeping their faces close together and their foreheads pressed together, Shinobu murmured. "I love you too Kei-kun."

"Let's get to bed Shino-chan." He whispered quietly.

"Sure Kei-kun." She nodded happily. Giving her one last kiss, Keitaro led Shinobu to his futon, her arm around her waist and gently rubbing her hip. Slipping into the futon they lay on their sides facing each other. Wrapping his arms her slim body, Keitaro pulled her close to him and pressed his lips against hers. "Love you Shino-chan." He smiled at her.

"Love you too Kei-kun." She gave him another one of her beautiful smiles. Leaning in to kiss him again they were interrupted by a knock on the door before their lips could meet. Rolling onto his back Keitaro face the door and called out. "Yes." Somewhat irritable.

The door slid open to reveal Kanako standing nervously at the door wearing a thin pink nightdress short enough to reveal her panties every time she moved. "Onii-sama..."

"Is everything alright Kana-chan?" his annoyance gone, replaced concern.

"Yes, it's just... I was wondering if it would be alright to sleep with you tonight?" she asked bashfully.

"er..." Keitaro started, unsure how to answer her. "Well-"

"Of course you can Kanako-chan. We don't mind if you sleep with us, right Kei-kun?" she smiled as rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Er, sure." He agreed, glad that he didn't have to make the decision himself.

Blushing, Kanako murmured a thank you and made her way over to the couple and pressed her body against his free side. Resting her head on her brother's chest she looked across at Shinobu who was doing the same and mouthed a thank you at her. Looking down at the two girls, Keitaro wrapped his arms around them to rest his hands on her hips. "You two alright?"

Looking up at him both girls grinned happily at Keitaro. "Of course we are Onii-sama. We get to sleep with you holding us so why wouldn't we be alright?"

"That's right." Shinobu agreed. "We couldn't be more happy right Kanako-chan." The chef received a nod in response "Now let's get to sleep OK? Good night Kei-kun."

"Good night Onii-sama."

Both girls leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before using his chest as a pillow. Giving each other a smile they mouthed a good night to each other before snuggling closer to him and fell asleep. Needless to say Keitaro was very confused about the situation he had found himself in but looking at the content smiles of two of the most important people to him he realised that at this precise moment in time he didn't care. Gently stroking their sides he leaned down and kissed the top of Shinobu's and Kanako's head.

"I love you Shino-chan, Kana-chan." He whispered and was rewarded with both girls snuggling closer to him. Gently stroking their sides Keitaro smiled and murmured "Good night girls." before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

**The End**

* * *

Authors note 

Well that's the end of Sempai, My Saviour. Though I am planning to have a special Omake chapter this should be considered the official end of SmS (At least until I see how the chapter turns out). The Omake will probably have lemon/lime and harem content to it but that's all I'm revealing for now.

I know that it's been almost a complete year since I've updated this story and I'd like to thank you all for being so patient as well as those of you that reviewed and defended my story against that one flame and I hope that it was worth the wait.

A couple of people have asked about what happened to Naru, and in truth i never gave her role much thought beyond her hospitalising keitaro and right now i don't intend to have her appear in the Omake. while some may call it a plot hole i prefer to call it an unsolved mystery.

Well I've run out of things to say so thanks for reading.

_Rincewind1990_


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